In Touch With the Old and the New
by theICEBear
Summary: Continuation of "Going Home Through A Starry Mirror." Her past has found her. The Scoobies have learned that Earth's Former Greatest Champion is not dead. Buffy, however, has other concerns than her past. The Replicators have become a threat to Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**In Touch With the Old and the New**

-by theICEBear

**Disclaimer:** All characters portrayed in the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Stargate", "Stargate: SG-1", "Stargate: Atlantis" and "Angel" are the exclusive property of their creators and are used here without their approval. No infringement is intended by the following work. The story in the following work is the exclusive property of the author indicated in the byline above and this work may not be posted, reproduced or edited without the express approval of the author as named above. No direct commercial gain may come from any reproduction of this work.

**Summary:**Continuation of "Going Home Through A Starry Mirror." Her past has found her. Both sides have learned that Earth's Former Greatest Champion of the modern age is not as dead as she was presumed to be. Buffy Carter, however, has other concerns than her past. The Replicators have become a threat to the Milky Way galaxy: a threat led by a Replicator who looks and acts entirely like her adoptive mother.

**Author's Notes:** Set after season 7 of Buffy and during the equivalent of the 8th season of Stargate. A continuation of 'Going Home through a Starry Mirror' set in the period between the two major arcs I had in mind originally. If you haven't read the previous story, this is going to make no sense whatsoever. This is the one where the Scoobies get to meet the Going Home universe, and Buffy gets to deal with her old life amongst a mess of other things. I've set this against the backdrop of the 8th season of Stargate SG-1, albeit transformed as it has been by Buffy's presence and the events of 'Going Home through a Starry Mirror'.

**Chapter 1:**

In the unfathomable depth that existed between universes, two forces of great power and good faced each other. It was their first meeting in a while. "The dark forces of your universe are attempting to intrude on mine. Why is that?" one asked.

"They are beyond my direct control, and so when they learned through their magic that the one I gave you still lives, they have begun an attempt to claim her. They seek to submerge her in their darkness and make her their creature, believing that the strength of her destiny will allow them to destroy her legacy," the other replied.

"How could they know, unless you permitted them to gain the knowledge? You are being deceitful. Why do you seek to reclaim what you gave up?" the first one replied, uncommon anger in its tone.

The other showed its intent and pleaded, "I need to do this for my plans to work."

"You cannot have her back," the first one said angrily.

"What about free will?" the second asked.

"I bow to it more than you do, but I will protect my champions. I will be watching you, and them. Step out of line or intervene directly and you will discover that, while I do not have magic as you understand it, I have no need to miss it; my retribution for any betrayal would be both swift and brutal. I will not return her to you - she is in danger in your universe," the first one said.

"You love her like she was your own," the second one said in surprise.

"She is one of my champions: of course I love her. I love the good within me. I am a mother after all," the first one replied.

"I am not allowing this so I can to go back on our deal. I have other reasons. I will not interfere with your intentions for her, but please, I need this to happen for the sake of my plans," the second one pleaded.

"Show me your plans," the first one asked and the second one did.

"I will not stop this, even if it is risky. Other things are in motion within me. But I feel I owe you for letting me have her in the first place, so I will allow it. Be careful though, many things are happening in me now, and your champions will get swept up in them when they come for her," the first one said.

And the second one nodded in understanding. In the gossamer web of light between universes, a few tunnels started to form.

-------

Agent Barret wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. He cursed his lack of planning before heading to Israel in the middle of summer, wearing clothes better suited for an air conditioned building in DC than a crowded plaza in Jerusalem. Still, he and his Israeli friend - a so-called guide, supposedly from the civilian ministry of the interior, but with strict, and quite military, mannerisms - were looking around. "Are you sure they're here?" he asked.

"Of course I am sure, friend: we have kept an eye on your precious girls during their entire visit as requested. We've even managed to keep it a secret from the more unsavory parts of our population, which given one of them is quite renowned in certain circles, is quite an achievement - especially if you take into account our guest's seeming complete disregard for secrecy," Ehud, his liaison, said.

"Uh-huh, she is not one to blend in with the background, unless she really needs to. Ehud, does your country have to be so hot?" Malcolm asked.

"Ah, Agent Barret, you should have come for them last week when they were at the beach most of the time; that was hot!" Ehud said with a smile.

Finally, Malcolm spotted the pair he had been looking for. One was a tall red haired girl with her hair pulled back in a pony tail. The other was tiny athletic girl, with stark white blond hair in two braids that fell almost to the middle of her back. He also noted several 'operatives', for a lack of a better term, keeping an eye on the pair of eighteen year olds. They were coming out of a church looking relaxed and chatting happily. The blond was showing the red head something on her digital camera's screen. To most people, they would appear to be ordinary tourists, but they were both far from it.

The tall one was Cassandra Frasier, an adopted human from another planet who had grown up on Earth after her people had been murdered by an alien parasite, and she had been turned into a living bomb aimed at Earth. The SGC had saved her and adopted her. The other was Buffy Anne Summers Carter - the reason Malcolm had come - another girl who was adopted, but from another universe entirely, and who had grown up on Earth to become one of its primary defenders, even at her early age. She was vacationing incognito, because the disclosure of the Stargate Program had shone a tiny light on her life, which, for all the defenses and secrecy surrounding it, had not withstood the hysteria after the discovery of life on other planets and the war humanity fought against the Goa'uld.

There had been - and in a few places, still were - small wars being fought because of that discovery. Yet a lot of good had come of the discovery, and the attack by Anubis - another parasite - nearly one and a half years ago. To the general population, Buffy remained one of Earth's most guarded and classified secrets, as well as one of a select circle of people it called on in times of crisis. Only the name of the SGC and her code name 'Slayer' had escaped into the public consciousness during the disclosure around the Stargate program.

However, even with all the powerful nations of the world behind the Stargate program, there were downtrodden and dissatisfied people on Earth who might have learned of her existence since then, and who could have plans to use her for leverage. For that reason, now more than ever, Buffy Carter was not allowed to go anywhere without a few agents watching and guarding her. He wondered what would happen if the full disclosure of the history of the Stargate came about, as was planned for the future. People like Buffy Carter would end up celebrities if the full account of their deeds was ever released to the media.

As he stepped into view, he noticed just how well trained Samantha Carter's daughter was: she spotted him immediately, and her expression for a moment turned upset, before it was covered behind a friendly smile. Buffy said something to her friend as he approached. Cassandra Frasier glanced in his direction and rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry," he started saying.

"Well, unless it's your fault, I am not going to be blaming ya," Buffy interrupted. "So what's up?" she asked.

"Can we talk at the airfield? You've been recalled to active duty. They want you at the SGC as soon as possible; things have happened," he said.

"There's been nothing in the news," Cassandra said.

"And hopefully it stays that way. However, I was told it wasn't anything local," he replied. His agency was tasked with keeping the amount of Stargate news to a minimum. People got nervous when they were told about how big the galaxy was. He was sure they'd be hiding under their beds if they knew what the world faced on a weekly basis.

"Okay, let's move this tea party elsewhere. Hey, Mossad guy - yeah I know you - you were the one ogling us on the beach last week," Buffy called out to his guide, reminding Malcolm once more that aside from Samantha Carter, Buffy was also close to General O'Neill - one of the best officers in the US Air Force, but also one of the most offensive people in the world.

Ehud walked up looking like he was about to claim he had no idea what she was talking about. "Tell your buddies - our four man and a car or two tail - we're leaving, and they're off teenager watch. I'm sure that should make them happy," Buffy said.

"I, of course, have no idea what you're referring to, but if I had, I am sure I would thank you for your courtesy in not trying to make their jobs difficult," Ehud said, and gestured towards a car that had appeared almost if by magic.

----------

Buffy looked at the Airfield and sensed the cloaked transport as soon as they got close to it. "This is a rush job, Agent Barret, especially if they've sent a transport. But before I go anywhere with anyone, I have to call the Mountain and get verification - procedure you know," she said, and took out her cell, readying herself to duck, grab Cassie and run if the Agent did anything. The Trust was still out there, and a report she had seen said that the rogue agency had gotten its corrupt mitts on some Nish'ta. Buffy had been preemptively immunized against the substance a long time ago, along with most of the active gate travelers, but she had no idea if the procedure had been implemented in the NID.

"Of course," Agent Barret replied.

Buffy pressed the Mountain speed dial, calling Central Control rather than her mom for once.

"This is the Galaxy Express Delivery service. Who is this?" a droning voice asked. Buffy chuckled at the latest automated response, probably Jack's idea if she was guessing right.

Buffy switched to Goa'uld and said her recognition phrase. "This is the Second Daughter."

There was a few seconds pause then Walter picked up. "SGC Control. Buffy is that you?"

"Hey Walter, I am standing on an airfield in Israel. Have I been recalled for duty?" she asked.

"Yes, Rya'c came here to see you. General O'Neill says it's urgent that you get back here," he said.

"Tell him I'm on my way," she said, and hung up after saying goodbye, thoughts racing through her head. Teal'c was on temporary leave from the SGC leading the Jaffa in the rebellion against the System Lords, who were lead by Baal. Teal'c was actually doing okay, especially with the help of the Tok'ra and Earth on his side. Rya'c coming to see her alone could only mean a world of bad things.

"Let's go," she told Agent Barret. He nodded and walked towards the Tel'tak, which quickly decloaked in front of them.

Buffy turned towards Cassie who had been walking quietly behind them as they approached the transport ship. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. You could just stay here and enjoy the last few days," she offered.

"Nah. Besides, I have to go home and prepare: some of us non-geniuses have their SATs this year, and I want to do well. Unlike some people, I am not a shoe-in for the college of my choice yet," Cassie replied.

"Hey, I'm not a shoe-in for anything. I am doing my thing and taking a few classes at the Air Force Academy when I can find the time, which, given the state of things, is not as often as I'd like," she admitted. That was getting to be a sore point: Buffy felt at an impasse - she had gotten as far as she could in the SGC without joining the military, but she only had time for a little bit of an College education, which, to her own amazement, was actually looking like an enticing option. She knew she was missing the parties and socializing that a period of college could bring. She had contemplated bringing it up with Jack and her mom, because, after Teal'c had taken a leave from SG-1 a few months ago to focus on the war against Goa'uld, she had joined the SGC as a civilian consultant. No-one had brought up procedure or regulations, even though she was often under the command of her mom - a clear breach of the rules. Jack had mostly been running her life since then, at least in the professional sense. She wondered if her mom or Jack would object to her taking a few years off to go to college and only come to help out when they really needed her.

"So, you thinking about college Miss Frasier?" Agent Barret asked unobtrusively. Buffy nearly smacked him on the head. Cassie was a friend, and he was using the chance to add to her file - get a few more notes for their profile on her. Buffy nodded to the pilot in charge of the Tel'tak. He must have known her somehow, because suddenly he went from gaping to blushing, and then looking away while fighting to stay professional. Buffy wondered if the weirdness ever got to Jack. She knew her mom tolerated it, but she wondered how the oh-so-legendary General O'Neill dealt with it. She resolved to ask Johnathan about it when she got near a computer and he got back from wherever the exercise with his squad had taken him. He was, after all, mostly Jack too, so he'd know. Jack himself would never tell her. Buffy listened as Cassie blushingly revealed that she wanted to follow in Janet's footsteps studying medicine and later join the Stargate program.

"And you Buffy?" Malcolm asked. Buffy actually knew the young agent well; he had courted her mom for a while last year, and they had gone out for a couple of dinners. It hadn't come to anything yet though.

"That's the rub isn't it? I don't know if I want to change anything," she said truthfully. The transport ship was, in the mean time, already speeding towards space for a quick jaunt into orbit, and then back across the pond to Cheyenne Mountain.

----------

Buffy was amazed at the effect their battle against Anubis, and the Goa'uld in general, had on the old mountain base that had once been the home of NORAD. Now it was the center of the 'Homeworld Defense Treaty Organization'. The Stargate program, and a lot of the management of Earth's slowly growing space force, was based there. The actual air groups and troops were mostly elsewhere, with several space ports and production facilities under construction on every continent to avoid the entire thing getting destroyed in one incident. As they flew towards the Mountain, as it was now named in popular culture, it was clear how much had changed. Several F-305s were on aerial patrol. The fence and security perimeter had vastly expanded, as had most of the nearby above ground bases. The Mountain itself had expanded, and all sorts of new high-tech improvements such as a force field generated by a cannibalized system from one of Anubis' crashed Ha'tak's had been brought in. Overall, the base had an new and intense feel to it these days. The place was sprawling with new SG teams speaking many more languages, and most of it was under the command of Jack O'Neill.

The Tel'tak glided to a stop over one of the local ring platforms. Buffy got out atop the platform. "Agent Barret, you're in charge of getting Cassie home safely," she said, and looked towards Cassie. "I'll call you soon," she said.

"Good luck with whatever you're gonna go and do," Cassie said, as the rings arrived and took Buffy away in a flash of light.

Buffy arrived in one of the sealed reception areas within the SGC. An Airman was waiting for her in the security booth behind a bullet resistant slab of glass. "Ah, Miss Carter, good to see you again. I have your security badge out here, but first, please step over here." He gestured her towards the new sensors they had made using Goa'uld technology. No parasites, or other fakers would get in using the rings. The heavy doors leading out of the tiny round room slid open. Outside the Airman rose and handed her the badge. It had the black stripe which indicated that she had access to all areas. She smirked at her title, "Special Consultant." All nice and non-specific, even if some outside snoop got a look on the books, she'd just show up as yet another consultant. She headed for the Gate Control Room, figuring someone near the nerve-center of the base would be able to tell her what was going on.

----------

Xander looked up. "Are you sure?" he asked again. He had been asking variations on that question for a while now.

"Yes, Xander I am sure. The Circle of the Black Thorn are certain. The guy I interrogated claimed theyhad found Buffy. Alive," Angel explained his voice sounding angry. Xander had never liked the broody vampire; even with the prophecy of his potential redemption, they had never gotten along.

"Listen Mr. Undead Irishman, we looked into it back when she disappeared. Giles and Willow tried everything. All the seers said the same: Buffy was dead," he complained.

"We were being played," Giles said. He was in his late fifties, but for Giles it seemed like time was still kind. He didn't do a lot of field work anymore, but with their numbers he didn't need to.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"The Seers never said directly that either Buffy or Irene were dead - only that they were forever beyond us," Giles explained.

"How is that playing us?" Xander asked.

"Simple really: according to what I could get out of Goynes, before I had to... end our conversation, they've found out that Buffy has spent the last five years in an alternate universe, as opposed to just another dimension. They want to grab her, and use her against us," Angel explained.

"That's the part I'm not getting. Why would they think that Buffy would ever work against us?" Xander wondered.

Giles and Angel gave each other a look. "There are ways to corrupt all but the most virtuous, and like all of us here, Buffy was -- I mean is -- no saint. If she were in the hands of the right kind of warlock or demon, they might be able to taint her beyond redemption, even if it is not an easy task or doable overnight," Giles explained.

"Okay, so here's a suggestion: how about we go get her first!" Xander said.

Giles nodded, as did Angel. "There is one thing though. What, if anything, do we tell Dawn?" Angel asked.

"Dawn has to be told everything. Buffy's been away for four years, and I know Dawn bottomed out after losing Buffy on top of everything else, but I had a few of Robin's slayers keep an eye on her, and I know you both arranged something a lot like that too. Dawn would be deliriously happy to have Buffy back," Xander said.

"The list of people that should be told, has to include Faith and Willow," Giles said.

"Faith is not an active Slayer right now. She needed to sort out her head after what happened in London a while back, and that last mission you sent her on, Giles. She still has a lot of conflicting emotions about Buffy as well," Angel explained.

Xander cut in. "I think you're wrong: Faith won't admit it even to herself, but she was only a few steps behind the rest of us in the end on the whole "eternal friends of Buffy" thing. I saw her at the wake - she wasn't gloating like certain other bitches - she was very sad to lose Buffy."

Angel studied him for a while. "Alright then, we include Faith. About Willow: do you really think she'll help given her role the last time?"

"Of course, she'll help, as long as we can make certain that we're not pulling Buffy out of heaven, or anything like that. Oh and we'll have make her understand that we're not trying to put the kibbosh on her project in South America while she's away. She'll be here the moment we mention Buffy being alive," Xander said with certainty in his voice. Giles looked away - he was still not happy about Willow trying to revive the Guardian organization as an independent counterpoint to the Watchers.

"It sounds like we all have people to call," said Giles. "I was supposed to call Dawn this week anyway, so I'll deal with her. Angel, you should talk to Faith, and Xander, you deal with Willow." Both Xander and Angel nodded their agreement.

----------

Buffy spotted her mom studying the new bigger gate room as she arrived in Jack's conference room. "Hey mom!" she yelled and ran over giving her mom a hug. They hadn't seen each other for weeks. First, it had been the appearance of the disturbing Replicator copy of her mom that her mom had insisted on dealing with at the Beta site, away from her. Buffy had not been told what that had been all about, or even met the Replicator being - not that she minded that at all. Since then, it had been her vacation putting thousands of miles between them.

Sam turned and wrapped her arms around her. "How was Israel?" she asked, after they had both stood there enjoying the hug for a moment.

"Beautiful, warm, tense and historic all at once. I have a ton of photos on my camera and Cassie has even more on hers. We visited all the sights, and, well, so did the Mossad guys. But Jack's right about them - they are very professional. Cassie would never have even noticed them if I hadn't pointed them out, and I only knew because you and Jack taught me how to pick up on agents... Well, you, Jack and the Tok'ra," she said, and looked around at the room checking to see if Rya'c was close by.

"If you're looking for Rya'c, he is down getting checked out by Janet. He had a rash and she wanted to make sure it wasn't a problem or a reaction to the tretonin," her mom explained.

"You know what's up?" she asked.

"Yeah, Rya'c wants you to come help with taking Harakesh from Baal," her mom said.

"Why me?" she mused.

"Harakesh is P6X-382," her mom explained.

Buffy remembered the designation, but not much more, except something about deserts. Then it dawned on her. "Harakesh - that's the place with the Reen, those intelligent man-sized mantises living in the wilderness around Lord Yu's shipyard. I was there this summer," she realized.

"Yes, Teal'c thinks you can help him persuade those insects to help his troops get into the shipyard alive. The Rebel fleet is busy helping securing what was Lord Yu's realm, so he says he needs to do it commando style," her mom said.

"Which means call Buffy. I get it. So is the SGC getting involved in this one?" she asked.

"According to Jack, yes. He wants us to go along and Teal'c promised we can get first pick of a few parts, and time to study the shipyard if we help them keep it running," her mom explained.

"We need the tech and they need the ships, but to hold it you need an understanding with those insects," she agreed.

"That's where you come in, Buffy," Jack said walking in. He was wearing a full dress uniform - usually a sign he was either going to, or coming from, a meeting.

"Hi Jack," she said.

"Hi, kiddo," he said and sat down. "So how was the vacation?" he asked.

"Short," she replied. He smiled.

"So all of this doesn't exactly explain why I was rushed back home. I left copious notes on the Reen," she said. She noticed her mom and Jack looking at each other.

"Rya'c got a subspace call just before he came here to set things up for the near future when you were back from vacation. Basically, we were all planning to let you enjoy your vacation, and, if there had been any hurry, just have your mom's team help Teal'c with it all. The call changed that: Teal'c and Bra'tac got captured scouting for a way into the base. Rya'c thinks we only have a tiny window of time before Teal'c and the old guy get shipped off to Baal's personal custody, so it's a rescue op. now," Jack explained.

She got up and headed for the stairs. "Where are you going?" Jack asked.

"To get my gear. I am guessing you're gonna send SG-1 with me, right," she said.

She didn't have to look to know that her mom and Jack were probably giving each other looks before her mom called out, "Wait up - we can head down together."

----------

Sam glanced to the horizon trying to figure out where they were going. The gigantic shipyards lay in the opposite direction, past the Stargate. They were all heading for a worn looking mountain range on the horizon. There was a certain amount of vegetation, or at least green, to be seen there on the distant slopes. Even with their desert gear and their arriving in the evening, it was blisteringly hot, and Sam was glad they had come prepared. Their desert gear was getting another outing and they had brought extra food and water if their stay went long.

"So, if I understand you correctly, Buffy," said Daniel, "they're intelligent, understand but reject technology, and you managed to befriend them after you hunted each other for days. You won some sort of combat against a bigger animal, and shared the food with them. So are they dangerous to us?"

"It depends if they accept you as a part of my pack. I'm not an expert on the Reen, but as I understood it, if you're accepted by the group, they consider you their friend and you're completely safe. If you're not their friend, they consider you a food source. They know about Goa'uld tech, but they don't like it. They wouldn't explain why, but I got the distinct impression that they consciously reject technology," her daughter explained.

"How are we going to convince the Reen that they should help us against the Goa'uld? And wha,t if anything, can they do?" Rya'c asked.

"That's actually the easy part, as long as we can find Teal'c's Jaffa along the way too. You see, Lord Yu was supposed to be the friend of the Reen, but Baal has just been keeping up appearances since Yu died if I've guessed right. I saw a Reen nearly killing one of the Search And Rescue people sent for me the last time, when they found out he had told a lie. They seem able to smell it when we lie. If I can convince them that Baal has been lying, then they should turn to our side, or at least look the other way while we sneak in. I might even get them to like Teal'c as well later on, but he'll probably have to prove himself trustworthy and willing to help the Reen that live here. They don't want much, just that he doesn't poison the water, and maybe that he releases some animals into the wilds for them to hunt. At least that was their deal with Yu. I got the sense that they weren't particular about what kind of animals it is. As for what they can do, well this desert is their playground, and even Lord Yu didn't eradicate the Reen. That's should tell you that he considered it not worth the effort. He probably tried at some point in time, but it sure didn't stick, so my guess is that they must be good for something," Buffy explained.

"Do they know about the Stargate?" Sam asked, wondering how they could miss it, as it stood totally in the open amidst a small rock plateau in the desert.

"Yeah, but I got the impression they didn't like it much. I don't know why," Buffy replied.

"Okay," she said. She noticed what seemed like the ghost of movement near the edge of a dune, but as she looked closer she had to admit it was probably just sand moving in the faint hot wind from the mountains.

"We're being watched," Rya'c said.

"Reen?" Sam asked bringing up her weapon.

"Don't know," Buffy replied and pulled out a pair of zats.

A spray of sand erupted close by and a huge being with a yellow sandy-colored exoskeleton, four arms, and a huge grasshopper-like body landed in front of her. It made a loud rattling noise then bent forwards bringing its mandible covered mouth down level with her daughter's head. "B-buhffyh," it said.

"T'chack, I bring my pack this time. I hope this transgression isn't a problem," Buffy said.

"Nnnnnnnoh, itsss not. Your pack is welcome as long as you do not strain our food and water supply," the alien said, its mandibles working hard to work the syllables of a human language.

"Good - that will not be a problem, T'chack, I have things to tell your pack. I believe you're being deceived by someone who, I admit, is an enemy of ours. I believe that if your pack leader is told, you may help us take control of the lands he currently borrows from your pack, and let us borrow them instead," Buffy said.

Daniel leaned over to Sam and said, "those diplomacy classes sure haven't been wasted."

She nodded and waited for a little while as her daughter negotiated. "I think us being surrounded also helps with the caution," Sam replied, as she noticed twenty or so Reen erupting from the sand. They were carrying primitive weapons and spears, as well as very simple leather and chitin based clothes and armor. Daniel and Jonas looked around and realized what had arrived almost silently.

"Mom, the Reen say they want us to come to their village," Buffy said.

"We still have to find Teal'c's Jaffa," she said.

"That won't be a problem. I've asked T'chack, and he says they know where the Rebels are hiding. They haven't attacked them yet because they have meat for a while yet," Buffy said.

Sam shuddered at the thought of these insects eating Jaffa.

"I know, it isn't exactly a pretty mental picture," Buffy commented. "I had to kick ass for days and kill this giant bug thing, which was really like something out of Starship Troopers and was attacking a pack of Reen before they would even look at me as anything but food."

"So what now then?" Daniel asked.

"We follow them, and talk to these boys' mommies, who, by the way, are in charge, get the Reen to sneak us into the shipyards, rescue Bra'tac, assassinate the Goa'uld in charge and see how it goes from there. In the end, it will be just another couple of days in the service of the SGC," Buffy said. They all grinned. "But, just in case the Reen get hungry, we should pick up the pace. Actually, Teal'c and Bra'tac could be undergoing torture, so we should run," Buffy continued.

----------

A few days later, in their Scottish fortress, a group that hadn't been gathered for nearly two years stood in a large hallway studying each other in silence. Xander noted the differences in his friends since the last time he had seen them. Faith had put on a few pounds, and no longer looked like a strung-out addict, which probably meant she was doing good for once. Of course, given the horrors she had seen and fought beneath London, it was to be expected. Faith still dressed sexy, but age had at least mellowed her style a little. Dawn was looking like the graduate student she was. He had seen the reports on her grades, and those on her boyfriend. Buffy would have been proud to see her sister getting ready to work on her Ph.d at 24. Willow was looking almost like she had back before they lost Buffy: her hair was longer, and her outlook was happier than at the wake, but then he wasn't too surprised. He, Giles and Willow still met every few months to update each other on the progress of the Council in their unrelenting war against the demons; even with the icy tone between Giles and Willow, that much hadn't changed these last few years.

"So we're certain that she isn't in heaven, and that we're not about to make another mistake?" Willow asked.

"Well, after we called you here, we made an attempt to pull her here using magic. However, it seems that we can't even scry very well into that universe, and pulling her back just like that is apparently impossible too. We'll have to send people to her and have them bring her back through a portal," Giles explained.

Xander nodded at Willow's questioning glance. Her relationship with Giles wasn't exactly trusting. "We nearly blew up our latest portal keystone to create a faint contact with that universe, but it did gain us one thing: we got a reading on her soul. Buffy's alive and healthy living in that universe."

"Universe? Don't you mean dimension?" Dawn asked.

"No, she's in a parallel universe, not just some other dimension. The Coven insists that this distinction was probably the reason why we didn't find her back when we thought she died," he said. He noticed both Faith and Dawn looking unhappy, as they probably thought back on the dark times those two had gone through personally after losing Buffy, albeit for vastly different reasons. Not even five years had been enough time to fully get them all out of the shadow of losing a friend as central to their lives as Buffy; at least not when they were reminded of her.

"Okay, so what is the plan here? A bunch of us head in through one of them portals close to where Buffy is, say 'hi B,' and herd her back into the portal?" Faith suggested.

"I'm not sure it will be that simple, Faith," said Giles. Buffy has been in that universe for five years. She was brought there as a prisoner of people who were killing Slayers. We don't know anything about the Earth on that end. While she is still alive and well, physically, we can only hope her imprisonment hasn't been to her detriment mentally. We should treat this as a rescue mission, and be prepared for both a fight and possibly having to carry Buffy back against her will."

Xander didn't like the idea, but after five years of running the Slayers almost on his own, he had seen too much shit to not agree, at least a little, with Giles. That was the part of the standard kidnapping equation for the Council: Buffy could have gone native.

"So we bring a butt load of Slayers along with Red over there, and kick butt all the way in and out," Faith said.

"Something like that. We'll bring a couple of Slayers, and I expect you'll all want to go," Giles said.

Xander knew he was supposed to be adult and say no - to offer to stay, just in case - but this was the rescue mission for Buffy. Discovering that their negligence had left her stranded in another universe for nearly five years had created a certain amount of guilt on his part, and he wanted to go along. All around the room heads nodded; they all knew they weren't irreplaceable, and most of them had already trained their replacements. Xander wondered about Willow, but realized she had probably not sat idle in her mansion down in Rio.

"Spike should be here," Dawn mumbled.

Angel leaned over and whispered something to her. Dawn looked at him, then mutely looked back at them. Xander refrained from commenting on Spike: he barely tolerated Angel's presence. Spike wasn't really on his list of people he wanted along. Fortunately, neither of the vampires could come.

"Our research told us one other thing: we can't bring Angel or Spike. Any sunlight would fry them, because it is a regular universe, and not a demon dimension. Given its generally low overall levels of magic, it would be a harsh environment for any demonic or magical being," Giles said. Angel looked stricken for a moment but didn't protest. Xander knew Giles and Angel had discussed this alone earlier.

"Okay, so who are the Slayers we're bringing?" Faith asked.

"You and Satsu," Giles replied.

"G-man, you know the last time the Slayers went up against those metal headed fucks, they blew us to bits, and B took a platoon into that fight," Faith complained.

"Yes, but this time we have some other resources along, such as Willow. Besides, as this is an entirely different universe, we must approach things much more carefully; the rules there could be very different from here, so we'll be solving this with intelligence and stealth, not brute force or, as the case may be, Slayer force," Giles said.

"I am going too," Dawn pointed out. Everyone just nodded. It was long since the time they had tried to keep the girl out, and besides, Xander was sure everyone realized that Dawn could be essential in convincing Buffy to come back, if she had gone native.

"Giles, about the portal: why don't we open two? One to scry, and then one as close to Buffy as we can," Willow suggested.

"We lost our other portal keystone. It is going to take us some time to procure one, and even longer to make one ourselves," Giles explained in a tone that suggested he had the same idea earlier, and been forced to abandon it.

"Oh, right. Well then, let's get ready for our trip. It should take the keystone a day or two to build up the energy for this portal. I'll go put the spell on it now," Willow said, and headed for their portal room. All around the circle of friends, looks were being exchanged, all saying the same thing: What are we going to do with all that spare time?

----------

Xander looked around at the assembled group standing in front of the keystone that was bristling with power. Council watchers and seers were working in the background. The portal room was the place for all magical traffic coming in and out of their headquarters. Faith and Satsu decked out in weapons. Giles dressed like he was going on a safari carrying a large rifle. Dawn looked like she was just dressed for a long hike, as did Willow. Xander himself had opted for his usual field get up, grey military garb with a bit of light bodyarmor, two guns and a backpack full of supplies.

Willow, who had been chanting in Assyrian for a while, clapped her hands together and gestured towards the wall. A blue-green swirling portal slowly opened in front of them and a violent storm-like wind filled the room. Xander noted that nearby one of the seers had slumped from the exhaustion of guiding the portal to their target. "It won't stay open for long - we should all go now. It will be quicker when I have to start the return tripfrom the other side," Willow yelled and walked calmly towards the event horizon.

As a group, they all walked forward, while Angel wished them good luck as they left. Xander was last through the portal. For a moment, they floated in a fiery red tunnel, seemingly going from one big glowing blue ball through absolute darkness to another big blue ball.

They emerged onto warm sand dunes - beautiful white powder that was still slightly warm, even as the stars were glimmering in the dark sky. Xander had travelled around the world twice, and he knew that nights in the desert were icy cold; this place was no exception. He hadn't expected a desert, but then he remembered the pictures of the Egyptian style the people who had kidnapped Buffy had worn. He looked up: there was no moon in the sky, and the stars were all wrong. They definitely weren't on Earth.

"We should have brought more varied sets of clothes; we're gonna freeze tonight, and get sunburned tomorrow," Willow said as she got up and rubbed her arms for warmth as the air seemed to rapidly cool.

"Can't you just wriggle your fingers and make some fire?" Satsu asked. The Japanese girl looked as cold as Dawn, Faith and Willow.

Willow looked around. "I should probably not even try to do magic, unless we're really pressed. The ambient magic levels, and the connections to the other dimensions, are really weak here. Unless I use energy from living mystical beings like you, Faith and Dawn, I can't do anything fancy. You can be pretty certain that no one else can do a lot of magic either though, so its both a curse and a blessing," Willow explained.

"Red, you can still get us home right?" Faith asked.

Willow nodded. "The spell I cast on the other side included a return portal, just in case. I can open it without any serious effort. I won't need any help from here for that."

"Ever the girl scout," Faith commented, and carefully made her way up the dune to look out over the landscape.

"We'd better follow her example," Giles said, and took out a set of binoculars, now looking even more like he was on a safari; Xander hoped they weren't. He wasn't too hooked on them getting attacked by some random lion, and he had not brought a large enough caliber weapon to take out an elephant, or whatever served in that role on this world.

They all climbed up the dune to get a view of the landscape. They were practically in the middle of nowhere. They were surrounded by dunes, and in the distance, there was a mountain range.

"Look, I think there is a road of some kind over there," said Dawn. "It leads to a stone plateau, and a ruin of some sort over there."

"It also leads somewhere more interesting though," Faith said, and pointed toward the horizon in the direction Dawn was facing. Xander turned and saw the first clear sign of civilization on this new world: a distant halo of light from what looked like a smaller set of mountains in the desert. It looked like one huge structure, or a small city.

"Do we have any way of knowing where Buffy is?" he asked, thinking that he didn't want to go all the way to that distant place, if she was much closer.

"Sure. Dawn, please," Willow motioned Dawn closer. The tall brunette walked over to the smaller red headed witch giving her a questioning glance. "Dawn is Buffy's sister. That connection should be strong enough to let me trace her without using more than ambient magic," Willow explained, and held Dawn's hand. They stood there for a while, Willow in deep concentration, Dawn remaining as inscrutable as she had been since her arrival in Scotland. Xander made a mental note to talk to the girl and find out what she was thinking so hard about.

"Strange," Willow said and opened her eyes. "Even here on the same world, this close to her, with Dawn to connect through, I can barely sense Buffy. It's like the familiarity is gone. I think she's over there somewhere, but I can't tell you much more than the direction though," Willow said and gestured towards the light on the horizon.

----------

"This is amazing, T'chack. Thank you," Buffy told the sandy yellow insect with the currently purple eyes. Sam had discovered that the Reen's eyes changed with their moods, although it all still looked more than a bit random to her so far. She was amazed at the rapport between Buffy and the insects, but put it down to their shared hunter natures. It had gone better than Buffy had hoped: they had gotten the mantises on their side, but the Reen had done more than just let them pass through the desert. Apparently lying and stealing was as to break with your pack, and your word. That meant you were evil to the Reen, and therefore, the Reen had to get rid of you. In their case, with the Reen believing Buffy when she honestly told them that Lord Yu was dead and Baal's people now ran the shipyards, this meant that several thousand of the yellow or green chitinous insects had appeared like ghosts out of the desert at a days notice, while Rya'c and a Reen guide had fetched Teal's Jaffa force, hidden as it, was behind the mountains. The Reen had then taken them all into a strange cave complex that had taken them safely under the desert, all the way out to the isolated valley where the shipyards lay.

Buffy turned towards her. Sam smiled at her daughter, with her solid tan and stark blond hair darkened by the fine sands of the tunnels they had just used. "Mom, the Reen are positioning themselves to take out the sentries, and anyone else outside, but T'chack says that the Elders would like us to assault the complex. They don't like to get inside Goa'uld structures," Buffy reported.

"Ok, we're looking for the prison complex," Sam said, briefing the assembled troops. "We're going in through the lower doors at the back there, SG-1 and Buffy we're in front. We should come up near the waste and water recycling areas, maybe the food storage, if Yu has built his shipyards like one of his typical bases. We'll question, then stun any slaves, but don't expect too many surrendering Jaffa here. Most of Baal's troops had the chance to join the rebellion, when Yu died, and didn't," she told Rya'c and Buffy. They were in charge of the large Jaffa contingent in lieu of Teal'c and Bra'tac.

"Our secondary priority should be to prevent any ships from leaving. They'll probably try to take Teal'c and Bra'tac away at the first sign of trouble. We can't let them get taken away," Buffy said.

"If they haven't gone already," Rya'c said. Sam glanced at the young Jaffa, who had been simmering with impatience since their arrival on Harakesh.

"Then we'll make sure to find out where they're taken, and go get them," Buffy said giving her friend, and semi-adopted brother, a reassuring smile. Rya'c nodded.

"Let's go," Sam said, and checked her weapon for the last time. Behind her, Jonas and Daniel got up and followed suit. A silent Buffy slipped by, blindingly fast as always, while the Jaffa formed up the much larger rear. Sam wasn't worried about discovery: almost as silent as her daughter, and also deadly in every way, thousands of larger than man-sized insects sprang from their hiding places all around the valley, ready to go about their deadly business.

Sam felt proud for a moment when she saw her daughter landing elegantly in the middle of the group of four Jaffa guarding the entrance she had designated as their entry point. Buffy was armed to the teeth, and outnumbered four to one, but still she went about things the humane way. Sam didn't raise her weapon but only watched as Buffy zatted one Jaffa, jumped over another who was charging her, shooting him as she passed overhim, and landed in a roll to avoid a staff blast. She then jumped back up, avoiding another staff blast, shot yet another Jaffa in mid-air, and hammered feet first in to the last one. He staggered back as Buffy landed, rolled to her feet, grabbed the last Jaffa's staff, and, using a smooth martial arts move, threw him hard against the wall knocking him unconscious.

Sam, Daniel and Jonas hung back, covering the door area, while Buffy fired her zat at the Jaffa she had knocked out to make sure he didn't get up too early. Sam had her knife out, and quickly pried a panel off the door controls. She swapped around a couple of crystals, and the metallic door slid open admitting them to the base. The Rebel Jaffa arrived in groups of five, running inside while she and her team waited. Buffy joined the Jaffa heading inside, while the rest of SG-1 waited. Sam knew her daughter felt strongly about both Teal'c and Bra'tac, so it was no surprise to her that Buffy wanted to lead the search for them. Sam took up her radio, seeing as they had gotten in without raising any apparent alarms. "Buffy, we'll go for the hangar we spotted just in case, you're leading the attack on the cells," she said.

"Roger," Buffy replied a few seconds later.

"I think those Reen have a poisonous bite," Daniel said.

"What makes you think so Doctor Jackson?" Jonas asked.

"I just saw one bite a Jaffa guard and he stiffened immediately. I thought most Jaffa guards were protected by their larvae," Daniel said.

"They're quite fascinating. I think we should suggest that the SGC keep in touch with them. They're one of the most interesting non-mammalian species we've met to date," Jonas suggested.

"Guys, rescue Jaffa now, science talk later... And I think you're both on to something," she said, leading her currently over-scientific team inside. She missed having Jack along on her missions, especially without Teal'c to compensate for her two geeky friends.

They ran inside, hearing noises of battle as the base became aware of its predicament. The Reen had said that there were many more slaves than Jaffa, and so Sam had decided not to wait for reinforcements from the SGC before attacking. It looked like it had been a good call. They went up a few levels and make their way down a wide hallway. Sam hoped they were heading for the hangar and that her knowledge of Goa'uld technology and construction, as well as her sense of direction, was not too far off. "Tau'ri! Die!" a clearly Goa'uld voice yelled suddenly. Staff blasts hammered the walls around them.

"Down," she yelled and they backed down the stairs. A large group of Jaffa and slaves walked out of a side corridor, the Jaffa firing on them while the slaves carried what looked like the beaten and bleeding Teal'c and Bra'tac. A Goa'uld walked with them.

"Teal'c, help is coming," Daniel yelled while firing his zat repeatedly into the group. Sam drew her own zat and followed his example. Several Jaffa and slaves dropped. The Goa'uld looked revolted, before activating the shield emitter on his hand device. Amazingly for a Goa'uld, it then proceeded to walk behind the slaves to cover them and his prisoners.

"No way I am letting them get away," Sam thought, and grabbed her boot knife. Following Jack's example from several years back, she got up and threw it at the arrogant Goa'uld's back. However her aim wasn't true, and the knife only sank into the lower right calf of the parasite infested man. He hobbled, and several slaves instantly reached over to support their false god. "Give them all you've got," Sam yelled noticing that the group of slaves carrying Teal'c had been reduced to two.

Two shots hit before the group could close the door to the hangar. Teal'c landed on the floor. Sam got up from her point of cover with her P-90 held ready. She fired several long bursts down the hallway, spraying them around to discourage the clearly enraged Goa'uld and his few remaining Jaffa from going back for her friend. Daniel and Jonas copied her tactics while she changed clips.

The group still carrying Bra'tac made their way towards a waiting Tel'tak and quickly got inside it.

"Fuck," Sam cursed as the transport activated its shields and got off the ground.

Buffy and a couple of Jaffa burst into the room from another door,and looked around. Sam saw her daughter wince at the sight of Teal'c's wounds. "Bra'tac?" Buffy yelled.

"They have him," she yelled back.

"Get into that glider," Buffy yelled, and ran as fast as could towards a parked Deathglider standing in the bay. Sam nodded and followed suit.

"Daniel, you're in charge until we get back. Secure things here and try to keep the Reen from eating our Jaffa; I don't think you can stop them from consuming Baal's though, but try," she called out without turning around to see if her friend had heard her. She trusted him to handle things.

Sam got into the navigator's seat just as Buffy, who had beaten her to the glider, was powering it on. "We can't shoot them down. Bra'tac could get killed," she said.

"Bra'tac can't get captured. He'd rather die than suffer what Baal'd do to him, and he knows too much about the Rebellion right now. I'll have to try and bring that ship down as safely as I can," Buffy replied and put the throttle as far forward as it'd go. They hammered out after the Tel'tak that, thankfully, hadn't cloaked yet. Sam looked at the sensor readouts. It became clear why it hadn't cloaked yet: It had a patrol of gliders to protect it.

"Buffy, gliders," she said.

"Hold on to something, this is gonna be a dogfight," Buffy said.

----------

They were about to get underway when there was a strange noise to their left. They turned, and saw a swirling white blue eruption of energy from the ruins on the nearby stone plateau. "What the hell is that?" Faith asked.

"We don't know, we're not from around here either, remember? Does it matter? Buffy is the other way," Dawn replied.

"She is coming this way," Willow said.

"Huh," Xander said.

"I can feel her a bit more clearly now. She's definitely approaching. Maybe she is headed for those ruins," Willow explained.

"I think it might be likely. Given the road there, that place might be of religious significance to whomever kidnapped Buffy. We should hurry though," Giles said.

"Right old man, let's see if you're still in shape," Faith said, and started towards the structure.

----------

Xander felt his breath burn in his lungs as they got to the outskirts of the plateau. The blue light had disappeared a few minutes ago returning the night. Well, not all of it. In the sky above the light halo in the distance, there was some sort of light show too. - sprays of orange lights that streaked hither and fro. He did notice, however, that whatever the sources were, they were in the sky and getting closer.

He also noticed Faith diving for cover behind a stone suddenly. They all prudently decided to follow her example, dropping prone near her. Xander looked around and saw the group: five men in military style uniforms, helmets, rifles and backpacks, outlined by the lights of a small wheeled vehicle. "Ok listen up, General O'Neill wants us to get a status report from SG-1, and for us to hold this gate should it be negative. Holland, I want you to put up a perimeter using the claymores, and remember to put one near the gate in case we have some joker trying that ring trick they warned us about. Let's show the Air Force guys that Marine SG units are what they should have had all along," a gruff voice barked in English, sounding like a soldier from Earth. Xander felt really confused for a moment.

"Major, I think SG-1 and the Jaffa have engaged the enemy," one said, and Xander could see his pointing finger outlined by the light. The guy pointed towards what looked like the sources of the orange bolts in the sky that were now very close. There was an explosion, and then there was one less source leaving only two.

"Get the SAM out!" the commanding voice from before yelled.

"Sir, there is someone out there," another voice added. They all recognized the sound of a gun being chambered.

Xander heard Faith yell: "Shit!" Then she was out from her cover charging whoever had seen her. It took her only a few moments before she reached one of the guys and knocked him on his ass. All around Xander, he saw people he - didn't know who - getting up and following Faith.

There was a loud humming overhead as Xander tried to get his rifle ready. A pillar of light appeared, and several rings descended. He stopped gaping in bewilderment. There was a bolt of light, and two small crystal ball sized silver devices rolled out from the rings, as they ascended back up to a floating thing had appeared out of nothing above them. There was a strange singing noise, then he fell into the darkness no longer conscious.

----------

Sam watched as their weapon's fire blew the last of the deathgliders apart. They saw the Tel'tak in the distance; it had just delivered a group to the ground, and the stargate was open. "They're getting away," Buffy said, her voice nearly coming out like a growl. There was a noise like a fork sliding over a dinner plate as a piece of the Jaffa deathglider impacted the cockpit glass.

"Be careful this isn't a F-305," Sam said.

"Don't I know it, I miss flying a proper ship," Buffy commented as she fired several bolts into the Tel'tak's engines, the first set of bolts eviscerating the shield of the transport ship. The ship, which had been vacating its position above the gate, fell in a soft curve to the ground, and slid into a dune. Buffy maneuvered them through a high speed pass by the gate, firing at figures lingering near the open gate. The figures ran for the gate, and it closed.

"Fuck! There was SG personnel back there," Buffy cursed. Sam looked back to catch a glimpse of the gate, but didn't say anything. They swung around and slowed for a landing near the crashed Tel'tak.

They slid to a stop and as a team, she and Buffy moved towards the airlock. Before they got there, a figure moved in the cockpit. There was a slowly growing noise from the ship. "Hyperdrive overload!" Buffy yelled, and they both turned, dashing for what little cover their glider would give them.

The ensuing explosion was small, but as they got up still, trying to recover their hearing and take toll of the damage, it was clear that the Tel'tak and whatever had been in it was a total loss. "There was a MALP at the gate," Buffy said, loud enough to get through the, hopefully temporary, damage done to her hearing by the explosion.

"Jack must have sent a team through. We have to go and check after we secure the wreck. I will try and get in touch with Daniel back at Shipyard, and tell him we're fine," she said.

"Okay, I'll check you glider, then we should head up to the gate," Buffy replied. Sam nodded. That would be the plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Buffy studied what looked like a scene of carnage as she approached with her rifle ready to fire. The MALP looked fine, but as far as she could see from the uniforms the remains of a SGC USMC Stargate team was scattered around the Gate like they had been tossed there by some sort of explosion. Thankfully they all looked like they were just stunned. However, she only counted four of them, which meant that there were several missing, and there had only been one body aboard the wreck of the Tel'tak; that meant nothing good.

"Two neural disruptors," her mom said, and nodded towards the expended ammunition next to the DHD.

Buffy spotted a group of equally stunned civilians a bit further out. They looked nothing like a normal group of SGC scientists, especially due to the lack of the standard issue BDUs. "Who are they?" she asked.

"I don't know," her mom replied, and signaled for them to advance towards the Marines.

"Hey there Sergeant Bell," Buffy said, and knelt next to the huge black man shaking him to check if he would wake up, but he stayed unconscious.

"How long does this usually last?" Buffy asked. The only time she had gotten hit with a disruptor grenade had been when Thoth had captured her, and he had kept her sedated a good while after its effects had worn off.

"Nearly 24 hours and then they'll be blind for up to half an hour after waking up," her mom replied.

"Crap, we're gonna need a medical team then. There are people missing," she said.

"I know. Let's dial Earth and call this in. They'll get support here immediately. Daniel told me on the radio that they have control of the shipyards, but we need more people to help protect it, especially if Baal has gotten wind off our attack already," Sam explained.

"We should also try and find some way to recover Bra'tac and the others. We have to at least warn the Rebels that they need to change everything up, because Baal has Bra'tac for now. We need to do the same given Ba'al's predilection for interrogation," Buffy said.

"I'm sorry honey," Sam said. "None of this is your fault. We can't win them all," her mom continued.

"Yeah yeah I know, you tell me that every time we lose. That won't stop me from trying to win them all either. I don't see you going in half-hearted," she said.

"And I'll keep saying it until I am certain you don't go beating yourself up over something that it really was a team effort, and therefore a shared failure... And I guess it's a Carter thing, because I feel like you do," her mom explained.

But Buffy realized she was heaping too much on herself again. "I'm glad I have you to help me not do this to myself every time something doesn't go my way," she said, while her mom dialed Earth.

"Likewise, when I get too mixed up in some problem I can't solve," her mom replied. They both smiled.

The gate blew open as usual and her mom signaled Earth, reporting the downed men at the gate, and told Jack about the general status including that they had lost Bra'tac.

"What about those civilians?" Buffy asked glancing their way. Four people lay just on the edge of the plateau in a small group. She could make them out with her nightvision and they looked more like tourists than someone from the SGC. They also didn't look like Goa'uld or Jaffa either, so she decided that they were probably one of the new international groups that had been flooding into the SGC for a while now. She wondered if they were Europeans or something, having dressed so casually, and she wondered if she could get a chance to do the same. She really wanted to try and go into the field looking less like Special Forces Barbie, and more like Buffy, but Jack usually shot down every request she had made.

"I'll get a Medic team to get them back to the SGC. Why, are you going back to the Shipyard?" Her mom asked.

"I wanna go make sure everything works out with the Reen. When the SGC guys come through just I'll go take the Glider back to the Shipyards, okay?" Buffy suggested.

"Sure," her mom agreed. The gate shut and then a few minutes later it opened back up. Soon SG-6 and 7 came through, accompanying a group of SGC field medics. Buffy nodded to her mom, and ran for the glider. She wanted to go be diplomatic with the Reen, but her real reason for wanting to hurry for the shipyards was to talk to Teal'c and explain that she had failed to rescue Bra'tac, as well as to hear him out on how they'd arrange to go save the old man.

----------

Dawn felt like she had been on spring break, but without the pleasant memories, when she came to. She opened her eyes and saw nothing. She felt a soft mattress beneath her body instead of the expected sand. The last thing she had remembered, they had stumbled across what had seemed like US soldiers in the middle of a desert on what she had presumed was a random planet in parallel universe, where supposedly Buffy had been kept for over 5 years. A strange light and some rings had teleported something down, there had been a noise, and now this. She tried to pull herself up. Someone in soft shoes moved to steady her as she sat up. Dawn reached up and touched the hands; they felt warm and soft.

"It's okay, you're safe. The weapon used on you will make you temporarily blind for a few minutes after waking up; your sight should be returning soon," the reassuring voice explained. It was a voice filled with both authority and empathy. Also, it spoke English with an American accent.

"Where are we? Did we land in Iraq or something? Is this a US military base?" Dawn asked wondering if Willow had actually landed them on a parallel Earth anyway.

"Iraq? You thought... No, you're not in Iraq. Listen, I need to ask you some questions, and I thought that having someone to talk while your eyes recover might be good idea," the woman said.

"Thanks," Dawn said. She thought about laying in the dark just waiting. There were faint nearby noises of medical equipment and distant voices. She was in some sort of infirmary;some sort of US military infirmary if her guess was right. Ancient stories of Buffy and the Council's past flashed through her mind. "Who are you?" Dawn asked realizing that she might not be safe where she was either. She reminded herself to at least be careful.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners? I am Dr. Janet Fraiser," the voice explained.

"Dawn Marie Summers - just call me Dawn," she replied.

"Really, Dawn Summers, huh?" the woman replied sounding perplexed for a moment.

"Yeah, my dad wanted something sensible and my mom just thought I was such a ray of sunshine that I needed to live with the moniker Dawn for the rest of my life," she replied while mentally reminding herself that at least she hadn't been saddled with a name like Buffy. She loved her mom and honored her memory, but her influence on her girls' names had been unfortunate.

"You sound like you'd rather just be Marie," the voice of Janet Fraiser said with tinge of humor, showing that this woman was certainly not a dull person privately.

"Do I look like a Marie to you?" Dawn asked.

"Don't know, the only Marie I know is a very nice nurse," Janet explained.

"Ah, well I'm not a nurse," said Dawn.

"So, Dawn, where are you from?" Janet asked.

"California," Dawn said, sure that her accent had given it away anyway.

"I guessed as much," Janet said.

"So, you wanna go for the hard questions now?" Dawn asked.

There was a sigh. "I guess it's time. Dawn, how come a Californian was where you were? How did you get there?"

"I... we flew. Got away from our tour group, maybe," Dawn said trying to see what, if anything, a lie would reveal of what the US military, if it was even them, was doing where they had landed. The sky hadn't looked like the Middle Eastern sky: she had been there a few years back going on the trip through Israel that her and Buffy had talked about before her kidnapping.

"Dawn, I think you'll have to work on that explanation a bit. How did you get off Earth?" Janet asked.

"Off Earth? Uhm, I don't know. We took... I... can't say," she finally admitted.

There was another sigh. "I understand. Your friends said the same," Janet explained.

"Where are they?" Dawn asked.

"Nearby. They're having the same problems you are," Janet explained.

Dawn realized she was beginning to see shades and motion in the darkness. "I think my vision is coming back," she said.

"Good," there was a noise as something was wheeled closer. A hand took hold of her chin and slowly turned her face a bit. "Dawn, do me a favor and tell me when you can see my penlight," the doctor said.

A few moments later she could see the faint light and after a few more moments, it was as if a switch was thrown and her sight returned. In front of her sat a nice brown haired woman with kind eyes, dressed in a white coat hung over a uniform. Dawn noticed an insignia on the uniform that puzzled her. Along with all the US military stuff there was a patch with an Egyptian hieroglyph that was unlike any other she had seen before in her studies. That rung an alarm bell to her: the men who had abducted Buffy and that other Slayer had worn Egyptian inspired uniforms. Carefully she glanced around the room. It was a large and advanced looking room filled with loads of expensive looking electronic devices and a long line of beds. A lot of it also looked like it was in the middle of construction.

"You have to excuse the accommodations, we're halfway through a major expansion of the entire facility, but at least after it is over, I'll have a proper place to treat my patients," Janet said.

However, Dawn was more concerned with the number of watchful guards, all of them dressed for combat rather than regular guard duty, complete with body armor and assault rifles. Most of the guards also carried a weird purplish gun in their belts that looked like a coiled snake had been mounted on a gun.

A set of double doors opened and a group of chatting soldiers and civilians covered in grayish mud, yet seemingly quite happy, walked in. The doctor looked up, sighed and got up. "More customers. Now Dawn, please stay put for a little while. You're not a prisoner, but you're also not cleared to leave the infirmary, and if you try the guards will restrain you," Janet said.

"So not a prisoner, but I can't go anywhere. Do we have different definitions of the term?" she asked, but Janet seemed not to have heard her as she moved off to talk to the muddy newcomers. Dawn looked around and saw Xander and Giles lying unconscious nearby. Neither Satsu, Willow or Faith were anywhere in sight. Dawn almost got up but a warning look from both a guard and a worried look by a nurse stopped her.

----------

Buffy and Teal'c slowly walked down the ramp into the SGC. Teal'c needed her support, which given their size difference made her feel a bit more like a hand rail than a shoulder to lean on. Teal'c was healing quickly thanks to his tretonin, but it was not at all like in the days when he had still had Junior. He was unhappy about it too; she knew that much, but they both knew that the advantage of the tretonin in removing the need for a Goa'uld larvae far outweighed the loss of a few extra abilities. The ever stoic Jaffa had said nothing, except asking her to take him to the SGC after she had told him of Bra'tac. He needed to get in touch with the other Rebel leaders, and set up a meeting with them. That he could have done from the bridge of his flagship; however, he also needed to get in touch with the Tok'ra and ask for their help in recovering Bra'tac, before their old friend was broken or killed. That meant he needed Earth, because even with their alliance, the Tok'ra and the Jaffa weren't exactly buddies, and all communication went through Earth at the Tok'ra's behest.

A medical team rolled up with a gurney. Teal'c ignored it. Buffy looked up at him. "You need to go in for a check up either way, and I am not carrying your ass to the infirmary and then back up to the conference room. You're no good to Bra'tac until you're a little bit better - then we can go out and get on with rescuing our friend. Oh, and get on with killing Ba'al," she said in Goa'uld.

Teal'c stared at her. She realized it was almost violating his personal code to consider getting help like this: Jaffa, and especially Teal'c, could be obtuse that way. "Respectfully Teal'c, you can hate me all you want, but you're either getting onto that mattress or I'll dropkick you and leave it to whoever is around to lug you out of here," she said continuing to speak Goa'uld.

He sat heavily on the bed, but resisted the medic's attempt to get him to lay down.

"Buffy, I think I preferred it when you were under my command," Teal'c said.

"Sorry, but your health is more important than respect or your stubborn pride," she said and watched as they wheeled the Jaffa away.

Buffy felt her mom approach before Sam announced her presence.

"Men, and oh how the Jaffa need to be extremely manly men," Buffy said.

"Yet we don't like them if they're not, at least partly, cavemen wanting to possess us underneath," her mom said.

"Boyfriend trouble again?" Buffy turned and asked while lifting an eyebrow.

"No, not having one kind of helps with the problems, and don't you think you'd know if I had a boyfriend, never mind trouble with one? No honey, there isn't one," her mom explained.

"Okay, I just thought that date with the police guy had led to something maybe while I was in Israel," Buffy hinted.

"It didn't. There are at least four people missing from the USMC SG team," her mom continued.

"Damn, poor guys. No one deserves that. Ba'al or his toadies will torture them for sure," she said. Jack had told her stories about his treatment at the hands of Ba'al a while back.

"I know. We're going to get them all back," her mom said. Buffy vigorously nodded. She felt like the mission to Harakesh had turned bad on them, and now they had to find some way to find those lost to them. Even with Teal'c rescued, losing Bra'tac and four SG team members, felt like too much of a price.

"By the way there was something strange about the group we found at the gate," her mom explained as they headed through the scanners mounted beside the big entrance doors to the gate room. They cleared them, showing as Goa'uld free, and they continued on into the corridor.

"Well?" Buffy asked.

"They didn't come there through our Gate. Diplomatic is drooling at the chance we've stumbled across another gate-traveling human society that we might be able to form an alliance with," her mom explained.

Buffy realized she didn't really care: she was a lot more concerned about the entire Ba'al and Bra'tac thing to be excited about visitors. "Oh, well at least they get to do the talking themselves for once, rather than bugging us to be more approachable," she said.

Her mom chuckled. "You're just a little upset that they forced you to take all those diplomacy classes. At least it worked with the bug."

Buffy just raised an eyebrow. "Water under the bridge. And well, they did have that unfortunate incident with the fire alarm and the sprinklers last week, so that is meant literally. So does the General know about the Bra'tac thing?" she asked.

"He does, and Jack says that when we get solid intel, we will mount another rescue attempt. However, just in case, we've changed the GDO frequencies, and communications is distributing the news and new codes to the rebel Jaffa," her mom explained.

"Teal'c wants to meet with the Jaffa leaders and the Tok'ra. He thinks that they might be willing to pool their resources, and get some sort of clue on where Bra'tac could be held. You think Intelligence knows anything?" Buffy asked.

"Doubt it, we still rely almost entirely on Tok'ra and Jaffa spies for our stuff. In their defense, their department is only a few months old, and its harder for humans to infiltrate Goa'uld organizations. Still it can't hurt to ask. At least they can give you an assessment of Ba'al's forces, and maybe even likely locations where they could've hidden him. Bra'tac is as tough as they come, but I don't know if he will last; I hope for all our sakes he does. Getting either Tok'ra agents or Jaffa leaders here could take several days," her mom said.

"I'd be more worried about Teal'c's patience. He loves Bra'tac like he was his father. I don't know if he'll stay off his feet, or even here to wait, more than a few hours, but then again I might just be projecting my impatience and concern into my thinking," Buffy said. She had learned a bit more about herself and her thinking after years of therapy with Karen, the SGC shrink.

Sam put a hand on her shoulder as they came to the lockers. "You should consider going home and relaxing for a while too. You've been in the field for several days, and you did most of the talking. I'll be off duty in about two hours. We could sleep in and then tomorrow forget all about work, Goa'uld and Replicators," her mom suggested.

Buffy considered it seriously. Her need to help people, her love and concern for friends like Master Bra'tac, all of them called for her to stay and press the issue. But the years of therapy, as well as the constant reminders from everyone who knew her, had made her realize that, unless she let herself take time off, she'd burn out. It had taken her a while to realize that burning out was in the end worse for those she wanted to protect as well as herself. "Sounds wonderful," she said.

"It's a deal... Uh, how about we eat on the way. There is a new Thai place that I really want to try out," her mom suggested.

"Sure," Buffy agreed, "see you topside in about two hours." She headed into the locker room and looked eagerly towards the showers. It was time to rinse days worth of desert travel off.

----------

Dawn had not been allowed to leave her bed or the infirmary since waking up. The nurses were really strict. It was getting to be more than annoying. She needed to talk to Xander and Giles, who looked like they were stirring. She needed to know what was going on and if anyone had seen Willow, Faith or Satsu. Then she needed to find a way out of the base so she could find her sister. She was, she realized, too busy to stay in her bed.

A large black man with a faint golden tint in his skin and a large golden emblem glued to his forehead had been wheeled in nearby and lay there impatiently tapping his fingers, while Dr. Fraiser fussed around him with an urgency that told her the man was important. He did have an air of authority around him that she had previously only seen with some Watchers, like Giles or Xander. It was a charisma that surrounded some strong leaders. Dawn suddenly realized that the golden emblem reminded her of the tattoos that had been on the foreheads of the warriors that had kidnapped Buffy. Willow had shown her a drawing of the sign once, but it was different from the one on the big man's forehead.

She sighed and got up, deciding it was time she talked to Giles and Xander. The Doctor looked her way, but when one of the nurses approached her, the Doctor subtly shook her head and the nurse turned away and went back to her work.

Dawn headed over to Xander's bed side. "Hi Dawnster, so you've got the full bifocal thing back in action," Xander said as she approached.

"Huh. Oh. Yeah I can see just fine. You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, both me and the G-Man are fine. We're more worried about Will and the crazier kids we brought. You think maybe they've been confined somewhere else for their own good?" he suggested.

"No, not unless they think we're completely harmless," said Giles. "They're even allowing us to see each other. I think if they wanted to imprison or interrogate us for real, they'd isolate us; at least they would in our universe."

"Things might be different here. Hey, maybe pigs can fly here too," Xander said.

"I believe we should consider whether these people might be either Buffy's captors, or if we're lucky for once not even remotely interested in our affairs," Giles said.

"I don't think you should expect that. The Doctor dropped several hints that they want desperately to ask us questions, but that they don't want to insulting about it. Apparently the planet we ended up on wasn't this world's Earth, but I think we might have been brought back to Earth already. I know, we have no idea where we are, and unless the US military are in the business of building off-world bases in this universe, I think they might have moved us. Do you think they have some sort of portal magic here? Willow said that they had nearly no magic so I really do wonder how that might be," she said.

"Giles, the university people broke Dawn and mended her using boring bits," Xander commented.

"I believe we're about to have company," Giles replied, ignoring the younger watcher's remark.

Dawn turned and watched as a woman clad in immaculate business attire that screamed 'federal something' walked up with a saccharine smile pasted to her face and a clipboard. Dawn decided the woman looked like an FBI agent overdosing on happy pills.

"Hello, and welcome to planet Earth. I've been made understand that you all speak English. Is that correct?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Giles said. The woman noted that down.

"Oh, good. That makes my life so much easier. My name is Lynn Fields and I am a diplomatic representative of the United Nations of Earth," the woman said but didn't offer her hand.

"O-Okay, I'm Dawn. That's Xander, and the nice older man is Giles," Dawn said. The woman promptly wrote that down. Giles' expression changed to a grimace for a moment.

"Ah fascinating. Now if I may ask, what is the name of your homeworld?" Lynn asked.

"Erh. Earth of course," Xander replied.

"Really. Fascinating." The woman made another note then looked up. "And how did you get to the planet we found you on?" Lynn asked.

Giles, Xander and Dawn stared at each other for a few moments. Finally Giles said, "We traveled using a portal leading there. We do not come from here on this Earth; we come from a parallel universe."

The woman looked up and studied them for a few moments. Dawn was surprised when Lynn didn't give them a look of disbelief or derision, she just efficiently noted down what they said.

"Well, that might be a problem. You haven't been experiencing moments of extreme pain or any other symptoms like that?" Lynn asked.

"No, no of course not," Giles replied.

"That's good. Maybe there will be none of that cascade business I was told about. Meanwhile as you're visiting in our universe, I must tell you that you stumbled inadvertently into a dangerous situation. The place we found you was until recently in the hands of an enemy of Earth, and until we have verified your story, you will be given over into the custody of the SGC, an international military organization tasked with the protection of Earth from Extraterrestrial and Extradimensional threats of any kind. Please understand this is done both for ourprotection and yours . The Galaxy is a dangerous place, and all visits from other dimensions have been equally fraught with danger," Lynn explained.

"Please be kidding. We can't hang out here. Besides we came here with three friends, where are they? Have they also been confined?" Xander asked.

Lynn looked up her eyes showing a hint of something akin to pity. "Where these people with you on that planet?" Lynn asked.

"Yeah," Xander replied.

"You were the only people, aside from the SG team, that were retrieved by the medics. Either your friends have hidden themselves in the deserts there, which according to my information is a very unhealthy prospect, or even worse they've been taken hostage by the forces that attacked and stunned you," Lynn explained.

"They couldn't have run - they were stunned like us: they must have been captured. Who has them?" Xander asked.

Dawn, meanwhile, wondered what role Buffy played in all of this, and on what side. Was all of this about Buffy and the other captured slayers, or had they just stumbled into something bigger, which would be typical.

"That is a very complicated subject, Mister, all of which is classified," Lynn said.

They noticed a tall woman with short blond hair, equally charismatic as the black man, enter the room. She wore a simple unadorned uniform, but still pretty much everyone except the doctor saluted her as she headed over to speak with the black man; that woman was someone important. It was also clear from the get-go that the man and woman were friends, looking at their body language.

----------

Buffy was done early with all her after action stuff which included a long bath. She glanced at her wrist watch; she still had half an hour before she was supposed to meet her mom topside. Deciding that a short visit with Teal'c was in order, she headed for the infirmary to see if he had already bolted, or was about to.

----------

"Now, Mister Giles, the sooner you explain to me why you came here, the faster we can resolve all of this," continued Lynn. "The SGC has some experience with parallel universe travel, and we may be able to help you get back home and we will, of course, offer our help with recovering your friends should the opportunity arise. However, we also need to understand your situation better? Now, why did you come here?"

Again the trio looked at each other. Dawn noticed how neither Giles nor Xander looked interesting in telling the woman anything at all. The doors to the infirmary opened again, and she looked over. The room seemed to change tone. The nurses smiled and the Doctor walked up to the tiny figure that had just entered. Dawn couldn't see past Dr. Fraiser, but it was clear this was just like the black man and the tall blond - someone important and well liked.

Lynn finally noticed her long look to the back of the room and cast a glance in the direction Dawn was looking. "Ah, those are some of the officers serving here," Lynn explained.

Dr. Fraiser moved and Dawn saw a large mop of gently curling stark blond hair atop a tiny slender female shape, dressed in a grey military T-shirt and baggy green pants. The upper shape was unmistakable even after five years: it could only belong to the biggest hero in her life. "Buffy!" Dawn gasped.

Lynn looked alarmed for a moment and took a step back as if Dawn had just sprouted another head. Dawn realized that clearly knowing Buffy was not something they expected, or wanted from their visitors.

"Dawn?" Giles asked.

"That woman over there - I'm sure that's Buffy," she said, and pointed.

Xander practically jumped out of his bed. The guards nearby, clearly already made nervous by Lynn's reaction, and seemingly permanently on edge, pulled out the snake headed guns they wore. The heads on the weapons rose making them look more dangerous. Dawn recognized them from the descriptions of the weapons used by the people that had kidnapped Buffy.

Across the room the figure she had identified as Buffy whirled around as did the tall woman next to her and the Doctor.

"No way!" she yelled. Dawn watched as the tiny woman sped across the room faster than she could see, and launched herself into a hug. Dawn felt her feet lose contact with the floor as Buffy grabbed her and held her. She also felt an old nostalgia as her senses one after another told her she was in the arms of someone she completely trusted. Even the smell was of Buffy: the natural smell of her sister and a slightly vanilla scented perfume mixed into something she remembered in the core of her being.

"Dawnie is that really you?" Buffy's voice whispered, buried as it was against her shoulder. It sounded shaken and shocked.

"All proud and tall," she replied looking over towards Giles and Xander. Dawn was unsure what to feel except happy. Xander had his hands up, and Giles had a pained look that Dawn knew only too well. The Englishman had seen something he didn't like. She wanted to yell at him for dirtying her moment with Buffy, but then she also noticed that the guards were still wearily watching them with their weird weapons drawn, while the entire group including the huge black man was walking towards them with the tall blond woman in the lead looking surprised.

"How? How did you get here?" Buffy asked still holding Dawn in a neigh unbreakable hug.

"Buffy... air please..." she begged.

"Oh, sorry," Buffy said, relaxing her hold. Dawn noticed how Buffy had actual muscle definition - something she had never seen on her sister before: Buffy had always been in shape, but never to the degree that her body had looked seriously athletic.

It was when Buffy leaned back that the real surprise struck her. Buffy was physically as short as ever, and the way she carried herself, self assured and dominant, was still in full effect, making her feel like the tallest person in the room. However, she was also looking like she still belonged in high school. In fact she looked like she was significantly younger than she should have been, like she was still seventeen or so. Dawn barely remembered her sister from the days she had looked like this. That had been before their mom dying - even before Angel turning into Angelus the first time. And there was another thing: it had never been too serious or deep a secret that Buffy colored her hair. This was either a week old super professional hair-do, or Buffy had found a way to become really stark white-blond haired. Her sister gently wiped away a tear on Dawn's face, while ignoring her own. They stood there studying each other silently for what seemed like many long minutes.

"Honey, who are these people?" the tall woman asked Buffy breaking the moment. Dawn recognized the tone to her shock. It was the tone their mom had used too.

"Eh, I . . . Hmm. Well this is. This is Dawn, my lit. . . my sister from my old universe," Buffy said.

The words: 'Old Universe' echoed through Dawn's mind. They sounded so final. Here she had just found her sister after having mourned her as dead and she was calling their home that, like it was a weight she had discarded.

"Buffster, you look. . . well like they have really great facials here," Xander commented.

"Xander, I don't believe it. I am so glad to see you," Buffy said and gave Xander another Slayer strength hug that ended a bit quicker than the one, Dawn had gotten. Buffy looked completely overwhelmed as she leaned back from the hug. Xander looked equally happy to see his old friend.

"Oh my god. Giles," Buffy said her eyes full of tears as she grabbed Giles and gave him a much more careful hug and then a tender kiss on his cheek. The older Englishman looked genuinely unable to speak. Dawn knew that he wished he could draw off his glasses and wipe them while facing away to hide his feelings, but the Watcher couldn't given Buffy's hold on his hands.

"Buffy are these your old friends? Are you sure?" the blond woman with the very military bearing said.

"Yeah, they're themselves and all that. I can feel it. I don't believe it you guys. I was so sure you had no way to get here or that you'd come earlier. Mind you, that would have been a bit disturbing for you," Buffy said, clearly thinking about something in her past.

Xander looked a bit abashed for a moment. "We were tricked by the Powers that Be. It was almost as if they didn't want you back at all. The oracles and seers all said to consider you dead, and when the black hats figured out that you were alive and decided to try and get to you, they still told us to leave you alone. In the end Willow pulled off a bit of the hardcore mojo and got us here," Xander explained.

"Is Willow here too?" Buffy said and looked around.

"Probably. Your military friends here probably have Willow, Faith and one of her sisters by the name of Satsu stashed somewhere else," Xander suggested.

Dawn noted Buffy's immediate scoffing look: her sister trusted these people just as much as she had trusted Xander and Willow in the early years of their time in Sunnydale. That much, she could see from her sister's expression. Eerie as it was to see her sister look and act younger than her real years, Dawn was fairly certain she could still read Buffy's expressions.

"Buffy, explanations to follow yes?" the tall blond asked using a turn of phrase that Dawn recognized as full on Buffy speak. That woman definitely must have spent a lot of time with her sister.

"Of course," Buffy said then turned back towards Xander. "We didn't pick up anyone but you three at the Gate. I was there and there was only you three. And that means that Ba'al has gotten himself Willow, Faith and this Satsu on top of a collection of SG people and Bra'tac. The rescue op just went from 'Critical' to 'Do or Die'," Buffy turned around.

"You know what I told you of Willow and Faith. Their power in Ba'al's hands would be pure horror. I guess Faith could hold her own against a Goa'uld being implanted in her head, but we still don't know how much of my resistance is my own, a gift from the Universe or direct intervention. We can't bet on it working for Willow either. Using all her power, and pure genius, a single snake could become a System Lord that would end upa threat as dangerous as Anubis," Buffy explained.

Dawn had no idea what Goa'uld meant, but Anubis was an old god reference as was Ba'al. This didn't bode well for what was going on.

"Why were they picked up and not some of the SG team," the woman argued.

"There are several possible reasons really. First one: They were close to the gate and were amongst the people taken before we blew away that transport. Second: They were somehow resistant to the neural disruptors and so that bastard decided they might be interesting. That is unlikely though unless Thoth specially modifed the disruptor he used on me a few years back," Buffy reasoned.

Dawn cast a glance towards Xander and Giles, who were looking exactly like she expected she was looking. For all her impressive memories of her sister in battle or planning tactics, Buffy had never been one for much analysis or thorough thinking on strategy. Now, it seemd, Buffy was good at it.

"Excuse me but. Huh?" Xander said.

Buffy turned to Xander and gave him an apologetic smile. "An alien parasite infesting a human, and using what you'd consider science fiction technology, was escaping through the metallic ring you ended up close to – we call it a Stargate. He dropped two bombs on you which stuned everyone in the vicinity, after which he made off to another world through the Stargate before I could blow his ass away. When he escaped, he probably left with Willow and the other, two as well as another dear friend of mine. We need to rescue them quickly because the alien parasites thrive on infecting people with power, and when they gain access to the hosts memories and complete control of their body. They're the enemies of Earth, and rule most of our galaxy," she explained.

Giles and Dawn looked at each other then back at Buffy. Dawn couldn't stop herself from laughing. After a while she stopped and looked at her sister, who was giving her a frustrated look. "Sorry, I just think you're the only person in the history of humanity, who could escape life as Slayer Number One to get involved in an interstellar war in another universe," Dawn explained.

"It was no coincidence. I was brought here for a purpose, and it's really more like intergalactic war at this point," Buffy said.

"Buffy, I think we should move this to the conference room. I think we need to properly brief your friends here, and I want to know their intentions," the tall woman said with a tone of complete authority.

Dawn waited for Buffy to scoff and protest, but aside from a wince her sister just nodded. Buffy sighed and said, "No rest of the wicked then. You picked a hell of a week to show up; we're kinda busy. I barely even got to enjoy my vacation."

"Your days are still in the system," the blond woman said. "Besides, you have a month of vacation time saved up on top of those you used. You'll get the time off just as soon as you decide to take things a bit more slowly." Dawn wondered if the woman had been tasked with arranging for Buffy's time in the military. Was she her sister's nanny and keeper? Dawn was also annoyed: she wanted time alone with her sister. She wanted them to talk, and then she wanted them to go back to their castle in Scotland in their own universe.

"Sure, but really Miss 'I could take several years off on what vacation I haven't used yet' shouldn't be doling out wise advise on my time off," Buffy replied. Dawn recognized the flippant babbling: Buffy was confused and overwhelmed by the situation. Something was bothering her sister about them being there, and that surprised Dawn more than anything else.

The woman grinned and said, "Right right, fair enough. Buffy, how about I bring your friends to the conference room and you go explain to Jack that you've made our lives a good deal more complicated. Again."

"Me? Okay, but no showing of embarrassing pictures, or telling of even more embarrassing stories. I will let them in on the sordid details of my new life soon," Buffy explained and ran off. Dawn realized after Buffy left the room that her sister had been really tense. She wondered if that woman had just gotten her sister out of the room to give Buffy a chance to collect herself? If that was the case, then that woman was like crazy close to her sister in a way she herself hadn't been since she had become a teenager.

The blond woman turned and gave them a nervous, and temporarily, vulnerable look. It was as if she was wrestling with some difficult issue coming from looking at them. It was as if she wanted to say something, but didn't dare. "I am happy to finally meet you. I have heard so much about you. Welcome to the SGC," the woman said in a tone that suggested that maybe she wasn't all that impressed with the stories she had heard.

"Glad to be here, Miss?" Giles offered and poured on with his considerable charm which he so often kept carefully hidden.

"Carter. Colonel Samantha Carter, US Air Force," the woman rattled off.

"So where are we going?" Xander asked.

"Since you're already been given a clean bill of health, and passed the Goa'uld detection tests, I am taking you to the conference room. It's close by. I guess we're in for a long conversation or two," Colonel Carter said.

The tall and massive black guy studied the Colonel then turned and limped towards the door.

"Teal'c where do you think you're going?" the Doctor called out.

"My presence is required in the conference room," the tall man with the weird name replied in a deep throbbing bass tone.

"Teal'c, you're not going anywhere. You've been tortured, you have several burns, three broken ribs and I am pretty sure you're recovering from a concussion. You'll have to stay here," the Doctor walked up to the huge black man, while the Colonel shook her head and took them towards a side exit after telling their ever so bubbly welcoming committee of one that she was taking over. Dawn was more interested in the black man however.

The last she heard, was the black man telling the Doctor in a fierce tone: "I will not allow Samantha Carter or Buffy to face this trial alone." Then the door closed behind them and they entered a grey concrete tube like tunnel with metallic doors in the walls and a lot of people walking along either in uniforms or lab coats,

----------

It felt like everything around was whirling, but Buffy knew that both she and the world were standing still. The world was fine; it was her mind that was disturbed. She had long ago given up on ever seeing anyone or anything from her old life, and, to what she now decided should be her shame, she had tried to completely ignore it all, because in the end it had been convenient and less painful to do that. Living in the now, and dealing with her weird little life had been enough. This world hadn't revolved around her: she had been apart of something huge, but not its center. She mattered, but she wasn't responsible for it all, and that had been good for her. It had been the responsibility, or rather the thought that if she had a bad night someone would die. Or that many people would die. Or the world would end. That had been her problem back in her old life: everything had been life or death back then, and everyone had looked to her for solutions, even if she felt woefully inadequate to fulfill their expectations in her. Here, it was different.

And now, she realized as she now slowly walked a path to Jack's office, she would have to face her old life, and as she wandered the halls, she knew that it had come to pull her back. It was almost as if she had been given a near decade-long vacation filled with joy and, yes, moments of numbing fear, but it hadn't been a nightly war to stop the always imminent end of the world. Still, Xander, Giles, Willow, Faith and Dawn were here, and that meant they wanted her to go back.

As she thought about it, she realized that it wouldn't be that simple. She didn't want to go. That made her feel horrible, but she had learned to, at least, be honest to herself. She could never say it to her friends and family, but she had not liked her old life a lot of the time. After Sunnydale, a part of her had wished to end her life as a Slayer and just be normal. Saving the billions of people on Earth from complete obliteration more than seven times at the cost of so much of her life had worn her out, but there had been no stopping. She had made thousands into Slayers and their lives had become her responsibility. Now she had a new life here. Her new life, her mom, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, Jonas and everyone else at the SGC, the friendly aliens out amongst the stars were here. She didn't want to leave them. Life at the SGC was something she loved. Sure, it wasn't perfect either, but it was better, flaws and all.

However, there were also things she missed on this side. She had still not found someone who would be able to love her and whom she loved back. She knew that there were at least two in her old world, who in their own way loved her deeply and truly in a way beyond what family and friends could offer. There was also Dawn: a sister in her memory, and in a weird roundabout way that they never brought up, born from her blood.

It had been strange to see her again. Dawn looked like always. Well almost: her eyes had been wiser, her tone more thoughtful, and as always, her sister had gotten even taller, but in the end she had just turned into a twenty something, while Buffy, who like Xander and Willow, should have been heading for thirty, had instead been reduced to a late teen again. Xander had been distant and hard in a way she now related to officers used to taking soldiers into the field. He had probably stayed with the Slayers as a Watcher to guide it all; that was bound to harden anyone. Giles had looked older and more worn, but not to the point of being out of the game. He reminded her of a softer well read version of Jack, or maybe a cross between Jack and Daniel. She shook her head to clear it before she knocked on Jack's door. She really wished her vacation hadn't ended early, but then another voice in her mind reminded her that she had also missed all of the people she had just thought about.

----------

Sam wondered what, if anything, she should be talking about with the three strangers whom she knew so much about from her daughter's stories. They were different than she had imagined. The former librarian had a barely hidden intensity and roguish charm, Buffy's old friend Xander reminded her more of a slightly happier and round faced version of Jack, and Buffy's sister seemed to have gotten all the height Buffy hadn't, along with a piercing wit. It was on Dawn her thoughts centered though: try as she might to avoid admitting it, she really wanted to just turn and tell those three emissaries from her daughter's old life that they could not be allowed to take Buffy away, but she respected Buffy and her past too much to do such a thing. She had long ago decided that she should never try and keep Buffy's old life at bay. Buffy had been brought to their world against her will, and even with what their universe had wrought on Buffy, Sam could not claim Buffy as entirely hers, so she didn't feel it fair to prevent her daughter from following her heart, wherever it led her.

Still she wished with all her being that Buffy would, for once, prove selfish and choose to stay with them instead of sacrificing herself to duty, a duty Buffy should long ago have been allowed to lay down in Sam's opinion.

"Excuse me, Colonel, but I can't help but noticing that your uniforms are adorned with an Egyptian symbol I have never seen represented before on our world," Giles asked.

"Interesting. In our Egyptian culture that symbol was interpreted to mean Earth in a way. Actually we now know that the symbol predates the Egyptian culture by millions of years. The symbol is originally from an alien language, and was a part of their name for Earth before humanity even existed," she explained. As they spoke, she realized it was easier to keep things formal and factual for now.

"Isn't it all classified?" Dawn asked.

"Not in the way it used to be. We had an incident a while back that revealed the existence of the aliens to the world. But besides that, for now you're our guests. Your friends have been taken by aliens, and if I remember correctly from the stories, you'll insist on helping us recover them. That, and the fact that you're from another universe, and probably going back there soon, means I can tell you more than is public knowledge," she said. Sam was rather proud of working the hint to make them talk about their plans for the future, and going back home, into the conversation.

"You bet we're gonna insist on helping. So is Buffy your alien hunter or something?" Xander asked. Sam was surprised to see in his expression that he fully expected her to say yes.

"Not really; Buffy is a consultant, but yeah she works here. Usually we rotate her into teams that need extra tactical support, strategic consulting, or if one of our allies are working with the team," she replied.

"What's that," Dawn asked as they walked past Gate Control on the way up to the Primary Conference Room. Dawn was standing at just the right angle to see a bit of the Gate. "It looks like the ring artifact that was on the planet," Dawn continued.

"That's true," she agreed but decided against elaborating for the moment. "The conference room is up this way. I was thinking that maybe I should call out for some food,unless you've already eaten in the infirmary," Sam looked around at the three who vigorously shook their heads.

"Okay then," she said and looked towards Walter, who had unobtrusively joined their entourage on the way up.

"Sergeant, our guests are hungry. The General, Buffy and I are gonna be there as well. Would you arrange for some food to be brought up?" she asked.

"Of course, Colonel. Should I have them refer to Buffy's diet schedule?" he asked.

Sam thought back. Buffy had eaten well in the field, but given all the fighting, and the desert trek, Buffy had to have metabolized more than her usual amount of calories. "Yeah, tell them to prepare something for her," she replied.

She turned to see three people studying her clearly curious about what she had said. Sam guessed it was about Buffy's food. "You looked confused about something?" she asked as she cleared the stairs, and went towards the chair next to the end of the room, where she'd usually sit right on Jack's right hand.

"Yeah, I was wondering, why Buffy gets special food and does she know?" Xander asked, his voice filled with distrust.

Sam was confused for a moment, wondering why that man was so distrusting of her. "Of course she knows. I would never give Buffy anything she wasn't aware off. She is on a special high-calorie diet so she doesn't burn through her fat reserves and start cannibalizing her muscle tissue. You know about her metabolism, right?"

"Slayer Metabolism?" Xander asked and looked over at Giles.

The librarian nodded. The older man headed to a chair and sat down. "You seem to know Buffy quite well. How long have you known her?" he asked.

"In principle, eight almost nine years, but according to regular calendar time I'd say almost five or so," Sam said.

"Nine? How?" Dawn asked.

"We had a small time travel incident," Buffy's voice replied, coming from the entrance to Jack's office. Sam could hear Buffy's well hidden turmoil in her voice: Buffy kept a very tight rein on those things in public, but Sam had learned to see through that to the truth.

Jack practically stormed in as Buffy walked over to sit next to her.

"Sit please," Jack asked. Sam noticed he was wearing his full uniform, but then it wasn't uncommon for him to do that. She also realized that while she wouldn't say anything to stop Buffy from leaving, Jack either already had, or would. She remembered him when he first met her daughter years back and had to suppress a smile. Buffy had completely won him over in the end.

All three of Buffy's friends and family sat down. Dawn sat next to Buffy, while Giles placed himself across from her and Xander took the seat across from Dawn.

There was a heavy step and a complaint from the stairs, "You're too heavy," Daniel groaned. Sam looked over to see Jonas and Daniel supporting a groggy, but defiant looking, Teal'c up the stairs

"Hello," Daniel said as they got Teal'c into the first seat they came close to.

"And suddenly we're a crowd," Jack commented giving Daniel a look.

"We wanted to offer our moral support, and Teal'c needed a hand," Jonas said.

"Dr. Daniel Jackson," her friend said after walking over and offering his hand to Xander. Xander gingerly shook it. Daniel repeated his introduction, going from Xander to Giles, then reached over to Dawn. Jonas copied his move adding a friendly smile. Sam noticed that none of Buffy's friends said much more than their names, and Xander seemed especially unhappy.

"Ah yes, introductions. My name is General Jack O'Neill - that's two l's - you've met Carter, and the big man at the other end of the table is Teal'c. I guess you know the rest by now. I know your names, and I see the descriptions match as well," Jack said. Sam nearly winced at his tone: it was playful in that way that, she knew from experience with Jack, could turn dangerous any moment.

"So, I understand you share a problem of ours. You were headed over to meet our team, were knocked out, and found yourselves missing a few team members," Jack asked.

"Yes: Willow Rosenberg, Faith Lehane and Satsu Matsuda. Are they in danger, Mister O'Neill?" Giles asked.

"I'd really like to talk with just Buffy," Dawn mumbled. Sam wasn't sure, but she guessed only she and Buffy had heard.

Sam also heard Buffy's whispered, "Later I promise."

"That's General, not Mister,and yes, they are in danger," Jack replied.

"Jack, before you boys start breaking out the testosterone, which I am sensing is in the offing here, let me just say that anyone fighting in here will have to deal with a severe case of 'Buffy's fist in face syndrome', and its associated aftereffects. We all have people missing. Let's just focus our energy there, please." Buffy gave Jack, then Giles, and finally Xander a pleading look.

Daniel leaned forward. "I just came back from Harakesh, and I can say that, according to the Reen, only a few of Ba'al's Jaffa are still running around in their desert." He gave Buffy a look. Buffy grimly nodded. She guessed they were both thinking about the Reen eating habits.

"So we're thinking they got kidnapped like the Marines from SG-18?" Jack asked.

"Definitely, General. I had a chat with one of the captured Jaffa, and I convinced him that we would be lenient if he would tell me about Bra'tac's captor. Herod, that's the Goa'uld that escaped, had mentioned that he had promised Ba'al several prisoners. I guess the loss of Teal'c made him desperate and he took what he could get," Jonas explained.

"Good work, Jonas Quinn," Teal'c said.

"Thanks," Jonas replied with a smile.

"So that means they're all headed to prison and torture with Ba'al, or one of his close underlings. Given that Bra'tac is along with them I think we should expect either Ba'al, or a consort of some sort. I remember one of the Tok'ra reports said he liked keeping one or two Goa'uld playthings around at all times," Buffy added.

Sam noticed all three at the table looking slightly confused by Buffy's words. She put it down to Buffy using terms they had no understanding of yet.

"Excuse me, but I am from another universe. What does Ba'al, Goa'uld and all that other gobble gobble you spouted mean?" Dawn asked.

"Alien parasite speech remember? Goa'uld is the name of the parasite race. Ba'al is a System Lord: a leader with huge armies, space fleets, and who has loads of technology, most of it stolen from another much more dangerous Goa'uld called Anubis that died a year ago," Buffy explained.

"Oh okay. And he has the girls? So it's like Scoobies saddle up and to the rescue?" Xander asked.

"Not unless you happen to know what address those people at the Gate dialed," Jack asked clearly not expecting an answer.

"Address? Dialed? Do you think you're making sense?" Xander asked.

"Not to you kid, but I can promise you the professionals of this universe know what to do here. You just stay, relax, take a few days off to rest your eye," Jack offered.

"Jack!" Buffy warned.

Jack just smiled roguishly at her daughter in reply.

"I think what the General means, Xander, is that it doesn't matter if we understand. They will rescue our lost team members along with their soldiers, because they know what is going on," Giles said. Sam was impressed with the cool and dispassionate way he could look at things even when he was so clearly emotionally invested.

Xander looked ready to say something, but a glance around the table stopped him.

"So, how about we address the real elephant in the room now?" Dawn asked.

"Huh," Jonas said.

"Are you going to let Buffy come with us when we leave, or are you going to try and stop us?" the girl blustered.

Sam felt the words like a punch in the gut. Buffy winced. Xander and Giles just looked calm and waited. Daniel and Jonas glanced at each other, but the two diplomatically gifted scientists said nothing and just showed even less in their demeanor. Jack openly scoffed, and Teal'c wore an otherwise unreadable expression - at least Sam thought so until she saw his eyes. They held a promise of danger aimed at Buffy's friends that Sam hadn't expected. They would not be allowed to drag Buffy away: not without a fight from the leader of the Jaffa rebellion.

----------

"Wake up! Come on Red, we need you. Now get up," Faith's voice called her back to the living.

"Where am I? What's happening?" Willow yelled. She was blinded physically and astrally. Then she remembered the magic here was too weak to let her see the truth of the ephemera.

"Relax. I just wanted you awake. We're in a funky Egyptian jail cell of some sort. Satsu is over across the hall in the other cell. We're bunking with a Marine, who says the blindness will wear off sooner or later. I don't know how long - it was gone when I woke up. Satsu's room without a view has more marines in it. They all say we're in mad trouble: in this joint they torture people while they ask the questions . We don't have good answers, so this might get rough," Faith explained.

"Oh," she said while the surprisingly gentle touch of the battle roughened hands of the brunette Slayer helped her to a comfortable sitting position. Willow sat there thinking for a few moments: she considered taking a bit of the slayer's lifeforce so that she could regain her eyesight, but decided that would be selfish, and unnecessary. Besides, as she was captured, her ability with magic, which was probably something unexpected in this universe, would be an important secret to keep.

"So are you trying to tell me something?" Faith asked.

Willow turned her head in the direction where she thought the slayer was.

"Yeah, first time I see ya since the empty casket thing for Buffy, and you get me dropped back in the joint," Faith asked then chuckled.

"Very funny. You know Faith, I think I might have been hurt when we got taken," she replied and couldn't help smiling.

"Why?" Faith asked suddenly sounding more attentive.

"I just realized I have missed you," Willow answered. Faith laughed and a deeper male voice joined with them.

Then a fourth voice said, "You must all be Tau'ri." The man had an accent Willow couldn't place, and its owner had said Tau'ri with a tone that indicated he was not whatever that was.

"Huh," Faith asked.

"Bra'tac," another younger sounding male voice said in surprise. Willow wondered about that name right off the bat.

----------

She knew she probably looked like she was sleeping. Samantha Carter, the Replicated, and much improved version of her predecessor, lay in the single open space within a starship made from the collected knowledge of her race, and built using her race as building material. All around her in space, she was aware of more ships like hers, all of them loyal to her. They were getting ready for their move.

First the threat of the Goa'uld would be eliminated, and then she'd take what rightfully belonged to her. She opened her eyes and stared at the holographic representation, with her golden blond locks of gently curling hair,and innocent hazel eyes staring back at her. "I will be the one who keeps you," RepliCarter said, and smiled at her daughter to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Buffy didn't want to turn and goggle at her sister, who had just made the entire room go from tense-but-bearable to hostile. Giles and Xander were looking like they expected her mom or Jack to protest, and Dawn looked about ready for a fight. Buffy glanced to her other side and saw her mom watching her with eyes filled with sympathy and barely hidden pain. She turned toward her "little" sister, who was now physically and practically older than her.

"Dawn, that's not an issue at the moment. Even if it was, no one here would stop me if I decided to go with you. I just think we should focus on rescuing everyone for now," she said, trying to deflect the entire thing and give herself time to get her head straight.

Dawn gave her a look of disbelief, while she guessed the look on Giles' and Xander's faces was more along the lines of resigned. Her mom and the others looked relieved, at least according to the quick glances she allowed herself.

"That's just a cop out," Dawn mumbled. Buffy noticed Giles giving Dawn a look, and her sister seemed to sigh, then leaned back. It seemed her former mentor was still as understanding and tactful as she remembered him.

Daniel spoke up. "Well, I think we got off to a bad start here. I understand that you traveled here to find Buffy, and unfortunately you got caught up in our troubles along the way. Now, Buffy has told us you run an organization that has goals a lot like ours." He looked at Giles and Xander.

"That is almost correct, although it is nothing of the caliber we've seen. And we're a civilian group," Giles explained, but stopped when Xander coughed and shook his head a little.

Xander continued, "We're not exactly like you, but close. Saving the world one day at a time. So you see, Mister General, we can help. We should be allowed to, and since we're going back to our universe as soon as possible, no military secrets are in danger."

"Exactly my point," Daniel agreed.

Jack studied both Buffy's old friends and Daniel for a moment. Buffy could practically see how the wheels were churning in his head.

"Okay, I guess you can stay on base and observe. I won't let you go in the field, unless I decide its safe," Jack said. His tone made it clear he thought the day the latter occurred would be a week after hell froze over. "And you have respect that certain areas will remain off limits. There will be things we won't tell you, parallel universe or not," Jack continued.

"Good, fine, now since we can't talk about the other thing. Could someone tell me why my sister looks like she should be in high school again?" Dawn asked.

Buffy winced again. "It complicated," she said.

"For later," her mom agreed. Buffy felt thankful for Sam coming to the rescue just as Walter came in with a trolley loaded with food.

----------

Dawn couldn't believe it: Buffy was eating like a trucker on a binge – at least if you looked at the volume. Everyone from this place was acting like her sister normally ate like this. She had always eaten normally, or at least California valley girl normal, but was now downing some sort of milkshake and going through a plate of rice and some sort stew like there was no tomorrow.

"So Buffy," Xander paused between bites and said, "How did you wrangle the hair thing? Cause that looks more blond than usual."

Buffy paused from her eating and looked up, "Okay then. I'm the age I am, because those guys who kidnapped me, made me younger using their technology. My DNA was damaged along the way and I got cancer. Sam--" she nodded towards the older Colonel next to her "--rescued me from the Goa'uld, and then saved me from dying using some alien technology. Along the way, I got enough of her DNA to be considered her daughter. Since I was in the body of a nine year old with amnesia, and we had grown close, Sam adopted me. I've been here since. You're just lucky there was a stint time travel along the way or you'd be talking to a 14 year old at this point."

"O-Okay," Xander said and looked around the table. Dawn didn't care what he was looking for – she was still hung up over what Buffy had said. She tried to get it straight in her head: Buffy getting made younger, then having her DNA changed and growing up as the daughter of an Air Force Colonel was not exactly something she had expected coming. She had expected to be one of the heroes going in to save her sister from captivity – she hadn't considered her sister may have a life on this side. She started wondering how they could repeat their thoughtlessness again. She had never thought about Buffy as having a life outside of the Scoobies, or how such a life would be, and neither had anyone else. Their shared history blinded them in a way.

"So the military has raised you?" Giles asked carefully.

Buffy and Sam both scoffed. "No, Sam raised me the rest of the way, not the military. I actually remembered a bit of my life from before – mostly some knowledge and fighting skills. Actually I am here at the SGC because I chose to be, and forced my way in. Believe me, certain people were really stubborn about letting me help out," Buffy replied.

"Hey. No one, and I do mean no one, would blame me from not allowing a junior high school student to run around with alien guns, or any other kind of gun for that matter. Slayer powers or not, that was just not on the menu," the General replied in a playful tone. The tension drained slowly from the room as several people chuckled. Only the silent Teal'c, still sitting stiffly at the end of the table, didn't join in. He was watching Xander, Giles and Dawn like a hawk. Buffy mattered a lot to the big man, Dawn surmised, and he would try to stop them from taking her home – at least that was what she thought from his attitude and the hostile looks he gave freely to them all.

"So since we'll be waiting for our allies to get some intel, I guess I can expect a few of those very late reports from you soon, Summers?" Jack asked.

Buffy sighed deeply. "Why is it always Summers when he's unhappy? Jack, please, I beg for mercy. Can't we just skip some of the paperwork? I mean you hate it as much as I do, so why can't you just work with me on this?"

"I don't mind the paperwork as much as I used to," Jack replied sardonically.

"You're just gloating. You have Walter to do most of yours, and you get to give the rest of us homework," Buffy complained.

"The others don't seem to mind," Jack said. Dawn noticed the discussion had a playful tone, as if it was something that had happened enough times to be a part of regular banter.

"Oh please, you're comparing me to three geniuses with a yen for paper, and a Jaffa who is exempt from most of that crap," Buffy fired back.

"Ah, Buffy, but let me remind you: first of all, these days to you, it's 'sir', and, secondly, I get copies of your report cards, so I know just where you fall in the entire genius department too," Jack said calmly.

Buffy only replied by saying, "Yes sir, so sorry sir, General old guy, sir."

"Hey, I thought we agreed years ago to never mention those two words," Jack said.

"Blackmail only lasts for so long Jack. Everyone knows the wheels needs to get greased again for those things to keeping sticking. So what do you say, old guy? May I suggest we negotiate over the number of reports for starters?" Buffy asked and pouted.

Xander laughed and Giles said, "I didn't think I'd see the day when that look would be aimed at someone else. I believe you are in trouble, General O'Neill."

"Nah, I am too nasty for that look to work," Jack replied.

Dawn finally realized that everyone was trying to lighten the mood not just Buffy and the General. She thought it was a bit stupid given the givens, especially after she had spoken at length with Angel about Cordelia, who could have taught them a valuable lesson in what life with fewer verbal filters and lies could bring. Brutal honesty was at times the only way, but, as she looked around the room, she thought about the fact that beneath all the nice smiling faces – even Xander and that archaeologist – there were the minds and souls of trained and battle hardened veterans. Maybe here everything here was too new for honesty.

----------

"Someone's coming," Faith said. A group of huge golden-armored men walked into the corridor between the two cells. Willow shared her cell with Faith, a Marine and an old man in silver armor with a golden snake emblem on his forehead. The other cell held more Marines and Satsu, one of the Slayers that had been stationed in Scotland, and the one picked to support Faith on their quest to find Buffy. They stopped in front of the cell and one of them, who also had an intricate golden emblem on his forehead, looked into the cells.

The old man rose and walked over to stand in front of the prison bars facing their captors.

"No, Shol'va we have come for one of the Tau'ri," the jailor said, and turned towards Satsu's cell. "Bring me one of the Tau'ri soldiers. The torturers want one so they can calibrate their instruments."

Satsu's cell was opened, and the Asian slayer used the chance to attack their enemy. Willow wondered if she could find enough energy for a spell to melt their prison bars, or stun their enemies. Satsu grabbed the warrior that had entered their cell and held him as a hostage.

"I'll break his neck. Now open the other cell," Satsu commanded.

The warrior's leader quickly drew a snake headed gun like the one's they had found pieces off back where Buffy had been kidnapped. He didn't speak – instead he just fired repeatedly into the cell. Satsu was suddenly holding a deadweight. The Slayer cleverly used the now limp man as a missile throwing him out, but Willow could see that it was a weak throw. Those blue lightning bolts fired by the weapon had slowed Satsu down considerably. Two of the warriors in the corridor were knocked over by their unconscious compatriot, but the leader had sidestepped easily and continued firing without missing a beat. The narrow confines of the cell kept Satsu from dodging, and the Slayer took another bolt in the chest knocking her down. She looked barely able to move, and was whimpering with pain.

"Amazing," the leader murmured. They quickly shut the cell doors again.

Meanwhile the old warrior in their cell looked shocked too, and mumbled something Willow couldn't make out.

"We must report this immediately," the warrior said, and left with two of his squad carrying the wounded third, their plan to fetch one of them for the torturers seemingly forgotten for now.

Before Willow could call out to Satsu, who it appeared was being made comfortable by the thankful marines, Faith grabbed the old warrior and slammed him against the wall.

"Faith!?" she asked.

"This guy mumbled 'just like Buffy', when he saw what they did to Satsu," Faith said, her eyes full of anger. Turned back towards the man, "So you've been torturing Buffy like this, yeah? You gonna enjoy what I am about to do to you then."

"Peace young warrior. I have not tortured Buffy. I would never do such a thing. May I ask how you know Buffy Summers Carter?" Bra'tac asked.

"Carter? Nevermind how we know her? Were you the one's who kidnapped her?" Faith asked still ready to attack.

Willow thought for a moment. The tone of voice used by this old man when mentioning Buffy hadn't been hostile or arrogant, but more like when you mention a friend. Maybe he had contact with her. It was obvious that there was some sort of war on the planet they were on, and somehow the US Marines were involved, which she still couldn't puzzle out. However, her more immediate concern was for her friends as well as keeping Faith reined in for a moment. "Faith, I don't think he's an enemy. If he's Buffy friend then he shouldn't be," she said and looked towards the man.

"Excuse me, Miss, I know Buffy Carter as well," the marine who had remained silent for a while said.

Willow turned towards him. "Is she famous here or something?" she asked, surprised that they were finding people who knew Buffy this easily.

"No, well not really amongst regular people. Buffy Carter works in the same place my unit does. Master Bra'tac is one of our close and trusted allies. He is also one of her friends," the Marine said.

Willow read his name tag and dug through her memory to recall ranks and things like that. "Thank you, Sergeant Nielsen," she said. She looked towards Faith, who slowly let go of Bra'tac and gave him an apologetic look. Faith turned to the bars and focused on Satsu. Willow noted that thankfully the young Slayer was still breathing.

"May I ask again who you are?" Bra'tac asked.

"We're Buffy's old friends. We've come to take her home," she said.

"Which home are you referring too?" Bra'tac asked in a tone that she couldn't quite understand.

Willow looked at him wondering what kind of answer he was expecting and just how much he knew. "Do you know where Buffy comes from?" she asked.

"Yes, she came from universe that is not this one," Bra'tac replied.

"Then you know where she is going. Back home to her friends and family," Willow said with resolve. Buffy had been forced to live away from her family and friends too long. The red head ran the scenarios through her mind. How she and her best friend would talk about their day and life. How they would be able to see each other every day. How they would work together as they disassembled all the schemes evil had made for their world.

"What about the home she has here – what about her friends and family here?" Bra'tac asked.

Willow thought for a moment. Carter had been added to Buffy's name, maybe Buffy had fallen in love and married. She wondered how Buffy would deal with that. Willow hadn't considered that Buffy wouldn't be imprisoned or in trouble; maybe she should have, she berated herself. She was supposed to be one of the wise protectors of the Slayers, her friend's legacy. Was she wrong in not considering Buffy's life on this side in all of this? However, she scoffed at that in the end. Buffy was the real Chosen One; she couldn't abandon their Earth – give up the good fight for a short stay in this world – especially after all that had happened in the past.

"We'll deal with that when we get out of here," Willow finally replied. But to her surprise the look on the old man's face told her that he had noticed her scoffing at his idea, and that it had met with his disapproval.

"I fear that if your friend over there is another Slayer like Buffy, then our stay will be extended. If our captor Ba'al discovers that he has someone in his possession who shares the abilities of Buffy Summers Carter, then you will get his personal attention, and that I wish on no one," Bra'tac explained.

"We can handle it," Faith replied.

"I hope so. Maybe with a Slayer, or two if my guess is correct, we will be able to do what few have done before us, and escape his grasp," Bra'tac offered.

"That's the spirit," Faith agreed. Willow nodded. She knew she had a way out already, but for it to work, she needed to know more about where they were and where the nearest safe place was. Furthermore, she needed magical energy, and there was only one source available to her: Lifeforce. Drawing it out, would be a much darker thing than she had dared to do since leaving Sunnydale. She hoped they'd have other options than that.

----------

Sam led Xander Harris and Rupert Giles to the guest quarters that they had arranged. She looked over her shoulder for a moment as they left the conference room behind. Jack was in his office by now. Daniel and Jonas had, with Buffy's help, managed to get Teal'c to agree to going back to the infirmary. That left her daughter and the girl that was her daughter's sister in that room all alone. Buffy had whispered a request for time alone with Dawn earlier, promising to swing by Sam's lab later to have a long chat in return.

Sam didn't need the chat, but she was sure Buffy would. There were deep rifts between her daughter and her old friends. They had been forgotten back when Buffy had been kidnapped, but never healed, and now Buffy was feeling all of that pain again. Sam sympathized with Buffy's friends too though. They had put the past behind them in a way her daughter was still unable to, and so she understood if they were more than just a bit bewildered by the woman they had found in place of the one they had come looking for.

"Was that an Indian flag?" Xander asked glancing after one of the new officers working at the SGC. The Indians were one of several allies that now had personnel under the Mountain. Sam waved the group into their temporary quarters.

"Yes, this is an international military operation, a bit like a streamlined version of NATO. I'm sure that they'll get the bureaucracy piled on later, but right now things are working out. It's a challenge at times, but given the threats to Earth, we're at least all focused on a common purpose. It is not all rosy, and we've actually been close to global thermonuclear war twice, but we seem to be managing right now. At least it helps that we have powerful external enemies to unify against," she said, glad to talk about something more solid than the situation with Buffy. Xander sat on the bed, while Giles walked over to stand next to the table with the TV.

"Sounds like a lot has happened. How did Buffy get involved?" Giles asked after looking around. "I know she said she forced her way in, but what really happened, if you don't mind telling us, of course?"

She took a breath and started what she knew would be a long story. She felt Buffy's friends might as well get the abbreviated version from her – at least then she would be sure of what they were told. "Ah, eh, well it's complicated. A lot of things led up to it, but according to Buffy, her decision was clinched back during the time she still had amnesia..."

----------

Buffy was grateful that Jack had opened the blast shield so she could look out over the Stargate. A team was embarking and the dialing sequence was running. She could hear Walter call out the chevrons in the distance. Dawn walked up to stand next to her. Her sister was almost as tall as her mother, and towered over her. "It's weird, right? That you're a kid again I mean," Dawn said.

"I kind of like it. My second time around has been better," she answered.

"Wow," her sister said when the event horizon whooshed into the gate room. SG-6 walked up the ramp, and disappeared off on their next mission.

"Yeah, you'd love the trip. It is like a roller coaster between the stars just prettier. One step and you're some where else in the galaxy. There could be mortal danger, exciting things to see, or the nicest people you've met to date. It's all out there. You know we've even got through to another galaxy and started an outpost there. We can't dial them up right now though, because it costs too much energy," Buffy explained. She thought back on how the IOA had nearly roped her and Daniel into the Atlantis expedition, but Jack had put his foot down, upsetting Daniel, and she had just decided she still had too many things to do with the Jaffa and her mom to go for a jaunt in another Galaxy.

"And you go through that often?" Dawn asked.

"Sometimes several times a week. I'm not the most experienced traveler here, but I get by. You'd love space as well. All quiet and black if you're alone. A month ago, I was helping to test one of our new transport ships, and I got to sit between Earth and the Moon just looking at it all. It is so beautiful," she gushed.

"You fly spaceships?" Dawn asked, soundingly completely stomped by that.

"Sorry I forgot you didn't know. Yeah, I am a certified fighter pilot. It is against all the rules, but I kind of helped these guys save Earth in this big space battle, and the President decided that if the rules were keeping me from helping more, then the rules needed bending. So, yeah, I am allowed to fly fighters and transport planes. I'm also allowed to work with my mom, even though that's against regulations too. Come to think of it, they haven't let me fly the new carriers yet, but I am certified for it," she explained.

"You're so different," Dawn said.

Buffy spun round and looked up at her sister. Her face was older, but the connection was still there. "I am. Growing up all over again in a completely different situation did that to me –it would do that to anyone – but I am still me. My life hasn't changed the shape of my soul. I am still a bit pompous at times, I can still be arrogant and prone to taking everything upon me as if every little failure is my personal failure. I even occasionally give heroic speeches, and I still push people away and then wonder why they keep so distant, but now I am better at seeing when I do it... and people don't let me get away with it either," she said. Buffy closed her mouth to keep from saying that here people fought to keep her close – here people didn't reject her for her failings, but they encouraged her to do better. However, she didn't say that: that would be too harsh a condemnation of people she owed so much to, especially since many of her problems in her old universe had stemmed from more than just her relationship with her friends and family.

Below them, the gate closed. Buffy sighed. "Do you want to see my office? I think you can sleep in my cot tonight – at least it will be better than the guest quarters," she said.

"And where will you sleep?" Dawn asked.

"In my bed at... Sam's." She hated herself for a moment for not saying 'home'.

"Oh. I guess that's fine," Dawn replied.

"Come on," Buffy said and headed out. Dawn obviously wanted her to stay closer, but Buffy just couldn't; she felt almost like a bad person around her sister. They hadn't given up on her, but she had given up on them. She had not spent hardly any time in her new life, since she regained her memories, thinking about her old friends, or how to get back to them. She hadn't wanted to.

They walked through the halls where the night shift was arriving for their working day. Several of them greeted her, or waved from a distance. Buffy spotted Janet, looking like she was on her way home.

"Hi, Buffy. Dawn," Janet said, and smiled politely.

"Hi, Janet. Can you tell Cassie that I'm sorry, but I am probably going to be off-world on and off the entire week, so there'll be no trip to the mall or the movies this week," she said.

"Sure, you be careful okay. And remember to take your mom home, or she'll be here until tomorrow again," Janet said and headed for the elevators.

"Naturally," Buffy replied forgetting for a moment that Dawn was standing right next to her.

"Your mom? You've got to be kidding me. What about mom? Your real mom? Did you just forget about her and pick someone new because it was convenient?" Dawn said tapping a finger into her chest.

Buffy looked down at the finger then back up at Dawn. "No, and I never could! I have two mothers, Dawn. I never forgot about our mom: not even the amnesia could erase her, or my love for her. Nothing has, and I resent the accusation. Sam is my mom now. She has raised me this time," she said, keeping an even tone and trying to mask her anger. It worked and Dawn gave her a sad and pained look.

"Sorry, it's just finding you like this – living like this – I never expected... You're really happy aren't you?" Dawn asked.

Buffy turned her head and didn't reply. She wasn't sure. She wondered if you could only know if you had been happy in hindsight?

"My office is down this corridor," she said and led Dawn that way.

A silent minute and a half later they entered her small office. The desk had two neat stacks of paper on the side, a notebook, and several shelves filled with books and trophies. At the far end of the room, the wall was decorated with diplomas, certifications and the like. "I'll tell the base guards you're here, and that they should come get you in the morning. They'll take you to Xander and Giles. Please don't wander off. I'll be back around nine tomorrow," Buffy said, and left locking the door behind her.

----------

"They're coming back," Faith reported.

A troupe of the Egyptian-style warriors strode up to their cells, four taking position in front of each one. Someone out of view gave an order in a language Willow identified as related to Egyptian. The warriors drew their weapons and fired. Willow fought her instincts to draw in energy from around herself to make a shield. She wanted to hide her power, as well as avoiding to go down the dark path. Pain beyond anything she had ever known filled her, until it became too much, and she passed out to the sound of Faith screaming in pain and anger.

----------

"Hey you," Buffy whispered and woke her mom, who was sitting with her head resting on the table next to her notebook – not entirely asleep, but not awake either.

Her mom slowly lifted herself. "Sorry, I'm just really tired."

"How about I drive and you sleep?" Buffy offered.

Sam studied her and smiled. "I think that's a brilliant idea."

They headed for the elevator together in comfortable silence. They passed through the security posts, half a mile of tunnel, and headed over to the parking lot where Sam's SUV was parked.

"You know I say it a lot, but I am proud of you Buffy," Sam said as they got into the car.

Buffy smiled. She guessed that her mom was feeling a bit insecure with her friends and Dawn here. "And I want to make you proud. Ain't that a thing?" Buffy said with a teasing smile on her lips.

"I just had to say it. In case you leave, I wanted you to know," Sam said.

Buffy stared at her mom. She saw the pain behind the love in her eyes. "Mom, I..." she stopped deciding she felt unable to lie. That meant admitting that she wasn't sure. "I just don't know – about the leaving – I haven't decided anything. I'm not sure if I should leave or stay," she admitted.

"It's okay. I knew the moment you told me it was them that this would be hard. Let's just go home and relax. We have immediate things to worry about. Bra'tac and your other friends are in the hands of Ba'al. They need you at your best," her mom said.

"They need us, the entire team," Buffy said.

"Just checking," her mom agreed with a smile. They drove off into the night.

----------

Dawn woke up feeling warm and lazily wondered if she should just stay in bed for a while to enjoy the quiet, before remembering where she was. Slowly, she sat up and yawned, while trying to smooth down her sleep-tussled hair. She looked around the room: her sister's office. She had been too upset last night to do much more than lie down and fall asleep, but now she was quickly becoming awake and aware. She knew she had to go see Xander and Giles soon. They needed to have a private talk about what to do to rescue Willow, Faith and Satsu. There was also the matter of how they would deal with the entire Buffy situation.

She looked up at the wall to her left at the framed certificates on display there. One was a Stargate Command field qualification, another a flight certification. Dawn started to study her sister's office. It was basically a big bed, a desk with a notebook computer and two long bookcases filled with books, and what were probably reminders of her sister's trips. Dawn knew their current hosts didn't want them to roam, so she did the only thing she could think off. She tried to study her sister through what items were left in her office.

There were several photographs of Buffy and Samantha Carter, as well as the mysterious Teal'c, who was looking a lot friendlier in the pictures. All the guys they had met in the conference room, as well as Janet, the doctor and a red headed girl were there as well; All friends of Buffy, Dawn guessed. There was also a picture of Buffy and what was definitely an alien: a small silver gray alien like out of a Spielberg movie. Buffy actually looked happy to be around it as well. Finally, there was a pictures series showing a very young looking Buffy, always with the same fierce woman and some older man, in a martial arts training outfit, it was different man and a different training uniform every time. Buffy looked really proud in those pictures.

Dawn moved around the room. The books were a bewildering mix, especially since it was the first time she had seen her sister having books around that weren't directly a consequence of a class her sister was taking at high school or university. Yet here, there were books on military rules, combat strategy for land, air and sea, and instruction manuals on how to run special forces commando groups. There were also flight manuals for what looked like space ships, complex looking math and physics books, and an entire row just with diplomacy and anthropology books. Dawn started to fear what exactly these people had been forming her sister into. Finally there was a top shelf with small velvet boxes that sat there neatly next to one another. Dawn reached up and opened one: a medal, with a French sentence engraved glinted, back at her.

There was a noise from the lock behind her. Dawn turned with the open box still in hand as a smiling, and clearly morning fresh, Buffy burst into the room. "Hi, Dawn, I have brought a change of clothes and I've sent someone to pick up Giles and Xander so we can have breakfast after you've been to the showers," Buffy rambled until she stopped probably wondering why Dawn was doing her deer in the headlights impression.

"I wasn't snooping," Dawn said recalling hundreds of times in the past when she had been caught trying to read Buffy's journal or catching a glimpse of her sister's secret life. The fights had always been loud.

Buffy just chuckled. "Yes, you were. I expected you too. Don't worry its okay with me... So you've gotten to the medals," her sister said.

Dawn nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know why I got most of those either. I mean, I'm just one part of a team here, but I guess they got tired of only giving them to the military guys, so I got a few. You should see my mom's collection. It's getting huge, especially now that the other countries who are in on the Stargate program have started awarding them to the SGC people as well. Jack got named a honorary Knight of Britain six months ago. Had he been English, he would be a 'Sir' now. I guess he is already, but I mean by name, too. And I am babbling, so we should just stop so I can get you to somewhere where the water can make you smell less like overripe Dawn, and more like soap," Buffy said.

Dawn laughed and nodded. This morning was starting to feel like a good thing.

----------

Faith felt like her body was on fire. The man with his glowy eyes loomed over her. Again she tried to force her hands up to reach his neck. She almost feverishly dreamed of reaching his scrawny neck and snapping it, albeit she was seriously getting partial to the idea of just slowly choking the asshole. It would all have to wait because at the moment he was torturing her.

Everything seemed to clench for a while. Faith tasted blood in her mouth, and suddenly darkness called for her.

"Ah, it seems you're dying my dear. No matter, you'll be back for more in a short while," the black haired man said. It was the last thing she thought she'd ever hear.

Faith blinked. She felt strong, clear and yet as she woke up she realized she was still restrained still unable to move anything below her neck.

"Now child, we're were discussing your origins as well as the source of your power," the man said. "You really should be more respectful. But it seems the females of your group thrive on being impertinent and on dying at my hand. I do enjoy this, and I have plenty of time, so feel free to be smart with me again."

"Kill me, or I swear I will tear out your heart," she said, directing her most intense glare at her torturer. She wanted him to. Wanted an end to the pain, to everything. It would be a noble end. A way for her to go without betraying anyone.

"Ah, no, but let's continue our conversation. What is the source of your power?" he asked lifting a knife. It seemed to point itself towards her like she was behind a huge magnet.

"Fuck your self in the knee," she spat. He let go of the knife. It flew with an angry wasp-like whine through the room and plowed through her thigh. She bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

"Oh, I am sorry I was aiming for the knee," he said and let go of another knife. Unerringly it hit her kneecap and the pain increased.

"What is your name?" he asked holding up a container of some clear liquid.

"Go stick your dick in a blender," she replied.

"Colorful," he mused, and poured a drop into the air. Mysteriously – impossibly – it hovered there for a while, like she had seen in the movies about space travel, before it flew towards her like she was lying on a floor. It splashed across her arm. There was a hiss and suddenly the pain spiked. She turned her head and saw the liquid eating through her skin and flesh. It was acid. Faith realized she was screaming in pain, but she couldn't get herself to stop.

----------

Buffy and Dawn stopped off at the conference room they had used yesterday. Buffy had told her that they had other meeting rooms, but they were being remodeled so they had to use this one a lot. Xander and Giles were there; Giles was sitting quietly thinking, while Xander stood brooding as he watched the Stargate below. Buffy remained near the stairs. Dawn was beginning to understand her sister's behavior a little. Her older sister had made a place for herself and gained a family of sorts here, and now her old family showed up and demanded her back. To what, Dawn wasn't exactly sure.

"Hi Xander, Giles. Had a good night?" she asked.

"Yes thank you Dawn," Giles replied. "Good morning, Buffy," he continued.

"Morning Giles," Buffy replied. and walked over to sit at the big table, leaning back and putting her feet up on the table.

"So what is it you do here all day – sit and relax?" Xander complained.

"Not usually, Today, however, I'm on babysitting duty," Buffy replied.

"Sorry," Xander said, "I'm just worried about Willow, Faith and Satsu."

"I get that," Buffy said. "We've lost an SG team and a guy who is both an ally and a close friend of mine on top of them. We're going to do everything in our power to get them back. And believe me, that's a lot of power these days," she said with no small amount of pride.

"So why aren't you out there looking right now? In Sunnydale, you'd be out there patrolling; When you led the Council, you'd have been issuing demands and pressing people incessantly. What changed?" Xander asked.

"I did. Xander, listen: This is the best military facility in the world right now. Everyone here is exceptional at their jobs. The best people work here and I'd be a complete asshole if I thought yelling at them would make them do their job faster or better. Besides, the galaxy is a bit big for me to just patrol. I would be a couple of years for the first swing around the block and that is if I don't stop to chat with the locals. . . What I have done is; I stopped by the command center and the comms center before I came here. We convinced our allies to come early. They'll hopefully have news. If they don't, then we'll plot out some sort of infiltration scenario that'll get us what we need to know. Running around like a headless chicken only makes you tired, not successful," she explained.

Dawn almost gaped. She had never heard her sister reason like that. Not that she had expected her sister to be stupid, but a lot of what Buffy had just said, had been things she had done on instinct before and which these days Xander and the Council did from experience. She had just never heard her sister articulate her thinking and reasoning like that.

"You sound like you have made a study of these matters," Giles commented.

"I have, and I still am. My education here has been a bit of the special side. Besides taking a few science classes just to be able to keep up with the lingo around here, I've been taking classes in military sciences," Buffy explained.

"And you've chosen that yourself?" Giles asked, his voice cautious and his study of Buffy intense.

"Yup, my mom wanted me to go in for sociology or something like that and I am considering it for later, but I needed to know military and science things more so, I took them first. At some point I want to finish an undergraduate degree – maybe get a masters too – but right now I'm too busy for that. Soon though, I will take an extended leave, and go do that. I can always protect the world on the weekends," Buffy commented with a smile.

"If you were staying that is," Xander said.

Buffy looked at Xander but didn't say anything for a while. "If I had been staying... yeah," she said, not able to hide the sad undertone in her voice.

An alarm started blaring. Buffy drew the dirt cover off her military style rugged watch, then got her feet off the table. "Alright, why don't you come a long. I have to be there to do the meet and greet anyway," Buffy said, and headed for the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Xander asked.

"To the gate room I have guests and friends arriving," she replied.

A few moments later, as they entered through the heavy doors with the strange side panels, a bald older man in off-white clothes led a group of similarly clad people down the ramp. They all seemed familiar with the room and looked calm, if somewhat reserved.

"Buffy," a younger man with dark hair called out and rushed over to hug her sister.

"Lieutenant Elliot and Lantash, hi," Buffy said.

"Kiddo, it is impolite to greet the help before the grandparent," the bald man said in a voice filled with authority and a hint of humor.

"Grandpa," Buffy yelled, to Dawn's surprise, and her sister ran over to hug the man with a huge smile. "They got Bra'tac and some of my best friends. Oh, sorry, hi Selmak," Buffy continued. A confused Dawn had no idea who her sister was talking to.

"What friends? Your message mentioned an SG team was missing. Not SG-1, I hope," the man her sister called Grandpa asked. Was this Sam's father?

"No, I'd have told you in the message. My friends from my former universe came to find me, and some of them got nabbed with the others," Buffy explained.

"That is not good. Selmak wants to tell you something," the man said. He bowed his head, before continuing in a different voice. "Things are much worse than expected. There is another reason for the Tok'ra to rush to this meeting: we have bad news to tell, and things to show you," he said in a deeper echoing voice.

"Typical. It can never be simple," Buffy said.

The man bowed his head again then said, "No unfortunately it can't, especially this time. Buffy, your mom and Jack should see what I have to show you all."

"They're waiting for you and the Jaffa leaders, who should be arriving any minute, in the new big conference room," Buffy said and turned to a nearby Airman.

"Airman, would you mind taking these dignitaries to the primary conference room," Buffy asked.

"Yes, ma'am," the Airman said, and guided everyone but the bald man away. As he was about to leave Buffy took hold of him, and led him towards them.

"Grandpa, this is Xander, Giles and my little sister Dawn," Buffy told the bald man.

"Whoever thought up that she should be called your little sister?" the man said with a smirk after looking at how Dawn was taller than both of them.

"Everyone this is Jacob Carter, my Grandpa," her sister told them.

"Hi," Xander said and offered his hand. Jacob Carter shook it, but the look in his eyes told Dawn that he, like almost everyone around here, seemed to instantly dislike them.

"Buffy I have to set up a demonstration, and I happen know to where the new conference room is located, so I will go," Jacob said.

Buffy nodded with a smile calling out, "Don't get lost on your way. See you soon." She turned towards them. "Okay, why don't you guys wait with me here. I have to greet the Jaffa," Buffy said.

"Who are the Jaffa?" Giles asked.

"Remember the warriors that kidnapped me? It turns out they're slaves forced to fight and die for a false religion, so that the Goa'uld can rule the galaxy. Teal'c – you remember him – started a revolution by defying his god and helping Earth. Now many of the Jaffa are fighting to free themselves, and Earth is helping when they let us. The friend I mentioned, Bra'tac, is one of their leaders, and we have to get him back, if nothing else, then for symbolic reasons," Buffy said. The Stargate whooshed open again and soon several armored warriors walked down the ramp with long staffs and cloaks. They looked imposing as they approached.

"Tek'ma'tae Rak'Nor," Buffy said and clasped the forearm of one of the new arrivals.

"Tek'ma'tae Buffy Summers Carter," Rak'Nor replied.

"There are many grave things to discuss today," another older black Jaffa said.

"Yes, Master Tolok. Follow me please," Buffy replied and led them from the gate room.

One of the Jaffa started talking in a complicated language. Dawn's linguistic brain could faintly associate the sounds with Egyptian, as it conformed in some ways to projected form vocalization studies had determined it would take. Buffy replied in kind, and for a while the two conversed in that language.

"What was that?" Dawn whispered after Buffy was done speaking.

"Goa'uld, it's a derivative of ancient Egyptian," Buffy answered back without whispering.

"Okay, how come you speak it? You nearly flunked French," Dawn commented.

"Ah, well, I don't get French. But I was forced to learn Goa'uld, so I did. I don't have an ear for languages but I do know a couple now," Buffy said.

"Just not French," Dawn remarked.

"Not beyond basic high school levels, no," Buffy admitted.

"At least Hell hasn't completely frozen over," Xander commented. Giles chuckled. Buffy pushed open the door to a huge conference room reminding Dawn of videos from the UN Security Council. Three huge flat TV screens covered the other walls. There were cameras and in the middle there was a strange decorated sphere, while there was a large circle of tables and chairs around it.

Jacob and his friends were standing waiting for the Jaffa to arrive. The greetings between the two groups were polite, but not warm. The General, Buffy's surrogate mother and the entire group of people from last night were greeted with warmth and respect. Finally the Jaffa saluted and "tek'ma'tea'd" Teal'c like they had with Buffy.

"Please be seated," General O'Neill called out. They all took a chair at the unoccupied side of the table, except Buffy, who sat next to Teal'c in the empty chair at his right hand.

----------

Buffy watched carefully. She knew her Grandpa well. Something was off – not just about this business – he was tense. That meant there was more than just bad news. It was something else. A slight discoloration of his skin making him seem pale. Or was it just her senses tricking her due to the lights?

"For years now the Tok'ra have, along with their regular espionage, done certain things during every regular operation aboard a Goa'uld vessel. To this day, this has been one of our most secret projects. We believe it to be mostly complete, or at least complete enough to use as a strategic intelligence tool. Every time a Tok'ra has had the chance, we have tagged any Goa'uld vessels we've been aboard with a id-coded subspace transmitter. This has allowed us to track fleet movements since the network came online six months ago. We've brought it here today, because we believe that this knowledge belongs in the hands of our alliance as a whole. We hope it will allow us to find Master Bra'tac, as well as Earth's lost SG team and it allows us to illustrate our next item," Jacob looked to Jack.

"We came today – we rushed to a usable gate in fact – because something new has entered into a war with the System Lords and thus with Ba'al. The Replicators have come to our Galaxy in force, and they're going through the Goa'uld fleets like a swarm of locusts through a prime harvest. So far thanks to the intelligence Earth has shared with us, we've been able to handle the few Replicators that have made moves against Tok'ra agents, but sooner or later they will come. We can't ignore them. We can't wait them out, or even negotiate. They are here to consume all of us, and they're doing so at a rate that could leave them in possession of the Galaxy within two weeks," Jacob said, and switched on the holographic display. It showed a massive number of small red light dots super imposed on the image of the Milky Way. Another set of gray dots were constantly growing in number. One or two dots every few minutes changed or disappeared completely. Buffy resisted shuddering at the thought of the Replicators. The last time she had met them, they had tortured her, her Mom and all of SG-1 just to learn about humans. Since then Fifth had gotten loose of the Asgard time trap, made a copy of her mom and been destroyed leaving the copy of her mom in control of the robotic menace. She just hoped someone else would have to face the copy. Buffy feared the idea of fighting and killing something looking like her mom, she feared being unable to do the final deed.

"The red dots are ships loyal to the System Lords. The gray one's are formerly Goa'uld ships that have been taken over by the Replicators. Well, at least those that still have a working transponder. Most Goa'uld are in a panic. Several have had to completely give up their domains. Entire empires that have lasted for hundreds of years have been eaten in days, and worst of all, enslaved Jaffa are pointlessly being sacrificed in defense their masters in their millions as we speak," Jacob said, hammering the point home to Jaffa before sitting back down.

"We don't know what to do right now. The Tok'ra leadership I have to admit is seriously considering running and hiding in Magellan Clouds or something like that," Jacob said.

Everyone was silent for a while. "We need to call the Asgard. Thor has to be able to help us make the Ancient anti-replicator technology work again," her mom said.

"Do that. Don't wait, just go," Jack said. Her mom left the room.

"Jonas, do me a favor: head out and make sure Homeworld Defense is told. We need to get everything ready. If we're lucky the weapons platform will have enough juice left to blow away some Replicators, and I know Hammond will want to have the Prometheus and the Apollo in the air," Jack waited until Jonas was moving before looking towards the assembled group at the table.

"At this point I had hoped to discuss a rescue operation, not the end of life in the Galaxy. I'm afraid our priorities have to change. Teal'c if you don't mind, I'd like to place Buffy in charge of the rescue. I know you and your friends will aid her the best you're able, the same goes for the Tok'ra," Jack paused. Both Teal'c and the Tok'ra nodded at this.

"Buffy, take your friends, use what ever I am not buttoning down for rescuing Earth. I don't know how long you'll be able to have free run of the gate system either, but try and get everyone back here to relative safety. Daniel, you're not busy, why don't you help her?" Jack asked. Daniel nodded. Buffy wondered why Jack had ordered Daniel join them, then realized he didn't want her to hang around too much with Dawn and her friends alone.

"Good then we need to get this show on the road. Any one have any options – last minute stuff we can try no matter how insane it might be?" Jack asked, while Buffy headed over to Dawn and the rest, who had remained admirably silent during the presentation.

"We should go guys. Once we get everyone back safe, we'll be included in this party, don't you worry," Buffy said. At least she was getting to put off her meeting with the Replicators after all.

They got out into the hallway. "Well that got us nowhere at all," Xander groused.

"Man, you really didn't listen did you. Buffy's Grandpa told you plain as day. If we can find out the name or something of the ship Willow and the others are on, we can find it anywhere in the galaxy using that thingy of theirs," Dawn said. Buffy was proud of her sister being smart enough to realize what that meeting had given them.

"But, we have no idea what to look for, so actually it didn't narrow the haystack down at all," Xander commented.

"Have a little faith will you. Those Jaffa in there are the leaders of thousands of defectors and Jaffa are gossips, especially as they have neither TV nor much fun at all," Buffy said only half jokingly. She hoped actually that one of the Masters might have a suggestion where they should start looking for Ba'al, or at least Ba'al's favorite prison. Buffy had no illusions about Bra'tac's value to the Goa'uld. The others could think what they wanted, she just knew the leader of the System Lords would interrogate one of the two chief rebels on his own. She hoped that the chance to shorten that guy down to shoulder height would present itself along the way.

"We can only hope. But if they do not, do you have a plan?" Giles asked. Buffy couldn't help feeling like they were back in Sunnydale, and her Watcher was testing her to see if she was thinking straight. She shook of the thought and focused instead on what he had said. Her former Watcher was right. She needed to have a backup plan.

"If they don't know, we'll have to gather some intel from one of Ba'al's pets. He's known to have both human and Goa'uld concubines. I bet one of them could be made to talk," Buffy said, harshly.

----------

RepliCarter felt the information flow through her mind. All the knowledge constantly gleaned by her brethren from the Goa'uld, from the pitifully encrypted subspace communications system used by Earth and their allies and from everything else they consumed. There it was. A signal. A call for allies to come for a meeting on Earth discussing a rescue. There the other snippet passed. Bra'tac, one of the leaders of the Jaffa Rebellion and a friend of her daughter to be, had been captured by Ba'al. Finally a look into a conquered database from a Ha'tak once in Ba'al possession now theirs. She knew where he was at the moment.

With a simple thought she redirected a small segment of the fleet. Certain of her brethren reconfigured themselves. It was finally time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"So why are we here?" Dawn asked. They had entered a large room filled with computers and cables going into the ceiling. All around them, soldiers were sitting at the computers with headphones on. Some were tapping in information, and others were talking in a great variety of tongues with the Goa'uld language being overrepresented. Dawn followed Buffy who led the way into the room.

"This is the new comms room," her sister replied. "We used to run most of this through the Stargate Command Room, but we needed more space, so we've moved it here. I'm hoping we can get some new intel." Buffy turned to smile at a female officer. The entire group arranged themselves behind her. Daniel was the only one not listening in, he had gone over to talk to another officer.

"Miss Summers, back so soon?" the woman commented, but her face showed no irritation.

"Please, Lise it's Buffy. Anything at all?" Buffy asked.

"Some. We've been receiving reports from the Tok'ra that the Replicators are attacking in force in several systems. I've been sending alarms up to the General's office, but Walter keeps insisting he is in a meeting," the female officer said, while looking over a clipboard.

"The General knows already. We were briefed by our visitors. Listen, we're still missing some Marines, Master Bra'tac and some important civilians. I was wondering, do we have any intel on Ba'al's current location – such as where he, his main fleet, or his base is?" Buffy asked.

"Ba'al? Not too much – mostly intercepts of orders to his fleet, or pleas from random Goa'uld for help. There was one thing I noted: we have some reports from the Rebel Jaffa that he personally ordered eight Ha'tak to fly to the Hasara system. A space station there is registered in our database as having originally served as neutral ground for summit meetings amongst the System Lords. There has been activity on the station for a while now, and we believe Lord Yu may have turned the station into some sort of behind-the-lines base early in the struggle against Anubis, and that Ba'al has started using it the same way," the woman said.

Buffy walked back and forth for a few moments, clearly thinking things through. "Lise, do we know when he ordered the Ha'taks there?" Buffy asked. Dawn wondered what a Ha'tak was.

"The day before yesterday. They passed Melkor V – a planet we know to be fully under Ba'al's control – and then continued from there. We don't have any concrete reports on the time of arrivals."

"Thanks, Lise. Keep an eye on Hasara for me – I think it's important," Buffy said, and turned to leave the room.

"Guys, head back up to the conference room we used this morning. I need to go speak with a few people," Buffy said, and ran off, dodging and weaving between people in the corridor. Daniel Jackson, who had quietly joined them again, gestured for them to follow him.

"So, Buffy seems to know everyone here," Giles commented.

"Yes, she helped set up the comms department, so most of the officers here know her. But given the number of years she's been in an out of the base, pretty much everyone from before the defeat of the System Lord Anubis know her," Daniel replied, as they walked calmly through the increasingly busy corridors. To Dawn, it looked as if a busy wasp's nest had been put into overdrive, ever since the SGC guys had been told about those Replicators.

"You know, I think we've come here in the middle of Apocalypse season," she whispered to Xander, who grinned for a moment at the comment, then nodded gravely in response as he realized how right she could be.

"No, Doctor Jackson," continued Giles oblivious to the whisperings behind him. "I really meant everyone. From most of the guards to all the aliens, Buffy seems to be quite well known."

"Ah yes, well, Buffy is very personable, and she has endeared herself to most of the people here. The Jaffa, Tok'ra, and, to a degree, the Asgard all think the world of her. Mind you, honestly I think the Asgard tend to overdo their appreciation – I mean they've named ship-classes after members of my team, and I'll bet that if they make any new fast warships in the future, they'll probably name them after Buffy. Interesting fact by the way: right now, Buffy is one of only three people outside of the Asgard species that can both speak and read the Asgard language. I understand you're all quite accomplished linguists as a consequence of your work?"

"I was the only kid in modern times that had to learn Sumerian to survive high school," Xander replied distractedly. Dawn bet that was because he kept getting an eye-full of a female Air Force officer walking a bit a head of them.

"Fascinating language really," Daniel said. Dawn perked up. She had studied Ancient Languages and Linguistics at College, and she was sensing that maybe she had more in common with Daniel than she had first thought.

"Yes," she replied, and recalled what she knew before bringing up some of the main discussion points about actual pronunciation of Sumerian words. Giles quickly and happily joined in.

--

"Grandpa," Buffy called out, as she saw Jacob heading for the gate control room.

"Hi, kiddo. You have a question?" he asked.

"Yeah for the both of you. Listen, I'm certain Ba'al would interrogate Bra'tac personally, which makes it possible that the rest of the SG team and my friends are there. At least I hope so. Do the Tok'ra have any idea, where he is at the moment?" she asked.

"Not exactly, unfortunately, but we do know what sector of space he is in, if only because that is where he is issuing his orders from," Jacob replied.

"Okay. Here is the important question. Is that sector is the Hasara system in that sector?" Buffy asked.

"Sure, but the only thing in the Hasara system is a big well-shielded, but basically unarmed, space station," Jacob said.

"Along with eight Ha'tak guarding it, according to signal intercepts," Buffy replied.

"Brilliant. Hasara by itself, being without a gate of its own nor any resources, is not worth that kind of protection. But, if Ba'al was there personally, it would make sense," Jacob agreed.

"And it's not far from Yu's former lands. All in all, it's my most likely candidate," she said, while moving aside to make way for SG-17 who were heading for the gate with some of Teal'c's Jaffa.

"It isn't going to be easy getting in and out with all those Ha'tak there. One of the Tel'tak's with improved cloaking against that protects against the type Ancient technology enhanced sensors Ba'al acquired from Anubis' armies, would get you close, but how do you propose getting in and back out?" Jacob asked.

Buffy waggled her finger and smiled. "A girl's gotta have some secrets... but let's just say I am going to cheat," she replied, and turned to run for her next stop.

"Buffy, wait," Jacob said. He put a gentle hand on her arm. Buffy turned and gave him a questioning look. "Listen, I had a word with your mom over the comms before coming here. I know about the situation with your friends. This is important: don't let anyone decide something like this for you. Whichever way you decide, it's your life now; you can't let anything influence that. You have to live your life, and not let anyone decide how you should live it. Not me, not your mom, not your sister or her friends. You. And I know you like to show people a mask of unbreakable confidence, so that they can have something to believe in while facing horrible odds, but I'm your grandfather. The blood in your veins is also Carter blood now, and so I can see right through you. You're confused about what you're obliged to do – about who you should listen to. It's a bad choice either way, I know that, but make sure it is your honest choice, because it is one of those choices that can't easily be taken back."

She gave her Grandpa a hug and held him there for a while. As she did so, she sensed something in him – a weariness, a weakness even. His face was pale, and his lips slightly bloodless. No one else would have noticed it yet, except maybe her mom, but that would be for other reasons than having superhuman senses. "Something is wrong. Are you sick?" she whispered as she leaned back from the hug.

Jacob bowed his head, "Please Buffy promise us, that you won't tell your mother yet."

"But," she protested.

"Promise?" Jacob asked.

"Alright, I promise," she replied.

"Our weakness is my fault. I'm dying of old age, I'm afraid," said Selmak. "The Tok'ra will not use the sarcophagus, and so we age and die as is only natural. Jacob has known this for a long time. We've both long ago accepted our death."

Buffy felt a cold void appear inside of her. It was like everything in her tightened and she felt tears welling into her eyes. Jacob gently took her face.

"Don't cry yet. I may have some time ahead of me yet, and in the end, Buffy, you know what happens to all of us," Jacob said.

"We all die in the end. On to the next great adventure," Buffy replied, daring to let the memory of heaven fill her. She so rarely revisited that part of her memories. It was sacred to her and it was so dangerous to go there, even just in memories, because you never wanted to leave.

"So onwards and all that, yes?" her grandpa said.

"Don't make me keep this a secret from mom. Please tell her soon." Buffy shook off her tears and the melancholy of remembering heaven to give Jacob a wan smile.

"I will tell her as soon as I have a quiet moment with her. I will explain to her that you found out on your own, and that I asked you to not tell her until then," he promised.

"Okay, see you soon," Buffy replied and ran off again. She knew she was running as much to get away from the bad news as due to haste.

Ducking and weaving through the corridors, while calling out greetings or pardons, was a lot less fun for her than it had been a few minutes earlier. Her thoughts had turned from thinking off herself to her Grandpa, who was literally passing away as she spent her time away from him. She wondered if she would be allowed time to grieve, but remembered that Jack would probably insist on giving her and her mom time off, and it was more likely her mom would be having a harder time.

Buffy stopped in front of the reinforced door and slapped the big red door opening button. The heavy door slid aside revealing the new main lab of the alien technology research department. Her main objective was sitting in the middle of a mess of small Naquadah reactors and benches full of other stuff under investigation. "Hi, Billie boy," Buffy yelled doing her best to sound as Californian dumb bimbo as possible.

Doctor Bill Lee, one of her mom's minions, gave her a fearful look. Buffy kept an insulted look from appearing on her face. She had, after all, gone out of her way to help Jack prank Bill several times, and they were getting to have a relationship a bit like Bond and Q. She just couldn't seem to keep from breaking his prototypes in the rare cases they worked at all.

"Oh no, Summers, you can't!" Bill protested.

Buffy twirled a lock of her hair and smiled, "I just need it for saving someone. I promise to treat it better than that rifle thingy, which I swear blew up on its own."

"Probably because you smacked a Jaffa in the face with it. Stop doing that act! Damn it! Why me! I know you're a genius – I've seen you help your mom with her math. I know you can pretty much put a F-305 together on your own. For God's sake, you know bits and pieces of Asgard science that no other human understands. So why this? Please," Bill begged.

Buffy sighed. "Because it's just too much fun, Bill. Really, it did blow up on its own, and unless Jack has reserved that unit for something here, I want it moved to Patterson and tied into a Tel'tak as soon as possible. Or are you gonna deny me what I need to save a team caught in the dungeons of Ba'al?"

His shoulders sagged slightly in defeat. "It works," he admitted in a low, almost petulant, voice. "But the interface is not ready for a Tel'tak's control interface, so it will only speak to the sensors, and it would have to run on the reactors, which means the range is going to be limited."

"No problem, I can handle an Asgard interface, and range is not going to be the major issue. I am more worried about transponders and stealth," Buffy replied, while studying the huge silvery Asgard beaming device that would fill over half the Tel'tak's storage bay.

"Here is the new transponder," Bill said. He held out a small black square about the size of an eraser.

"Perfect I'll need about twenty. And as for stealth?" She glanced at him.

"I've nothing to tell you there, I'm afraid. We haven't tested its effects on a cloaking field However, keep in mind that most Goa'uld don't even monitor their ring room for activity. My guess," Bill was about to say something else, but Buffy just held up a hand to stop him.

"Just get it ready as soon as possible. Give me a ball park if you can?" she asked, already heading for the door.

"It will take us at least eight hours to get it there securely, so I am guessing you'll want us to get it there in four hours or so?"

"I know the tricks of the trade too. This is a rush job. Do it faster, and don't think you can skimp either. I am bringing the Marines in on this one, and guess who I will tell them promised we'd get out of here to rescue their teammates in three hours?" she said as sweetly as possible.

"Fine, three hours, but I won't guarantee anything, regardless of whether you sick the dogs of war on me, or not," Bill replied.

"Bill, you're a hero, don't let anyone tell you otherwise," Buffy said, and left for her next stop.

--

"Man, I can't just sit around here waiting anymore. Can't we help with something? Anything?" Dawn protested. She rose with the intent of going back to pacing in front of the observation window. The Stargate had been used several times in the one and a half hours they had waited so far.

"I have something," Buffy remarked, coming up from the control room below. Daniel followed her inside reading papers on a clipboard.

"Buffster, how's it hanging? What about us you ask? We're just sitting, thank you very much," Xander said in an annoyed voice. Dawn guessed he, like her, was getting frustrated with just waiting around doing nothing.

"Well?" Dawn asked.

"How would you like to take a trip with me?" Buffy asked. "But I have to warn you, I will be driving some of the way!"

"What are you talking about Buffy?" Giles asked.

"I just got permission to bring you guys with me when I go to rescue Willow and the others. Besides I am going to need you to tell them that we're not the enemy when we find them," Buffy explained and walked up to the table.

"Did Jack okay them going out with us?" Daniel asked. He sounded like he didn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah. Besides everyone else, and I do mean everyone, is working on the Replicator thing, and I did give him good arguments. Everything is being made ready for us. We're just going to pick up a few Marines, and then we're leaving for Patterson immediately. Even with the upgraded hyperdrive on the modified Tel'tak, we have nearly a half a day of flying to do, and we have an enemy out there torturing our friends, while our other enemy is growing exponentially by the minute," Buffy argued.

Daniel defensively lifted his arms and said, "Okay, I'm just saying they won't understand much about what is going on."

"They'll adapt," Buffy said and gave her a confident smile. Dawn however wasn't sure how she felt about going into the air, or worse into space, especially with her sister driving.

--

Buffy was beginning to suspect that she was unintentionally showing off as she watched everyone try to find a space of their own aboard the heavily loaded and crowded transport ship. She was bringing quite a bunch: three marines looking to free their buddies, including the huge Gunnery Sergeant Bell. Then there was Daniel, who looked like he wasn't sure why he was there, but was helping her anyway, and finally, Giles, Xander and Dawn, who had been kitted out with some SGC uniforms, but no weapons yet – more due to regulations than any belief they couldn't handle them.

Bell came over and leaned against the co-pilot seat, where Daniel was doing her dirty work by getting them cleared for take off. It was supposed to be her job, but she was trying to make sure that the Asgard beaming device was operational, because once they were out there, they had no one who could fix it. Bill had even managed to get the controls wired into a panel on the pilot's console. "Summers, what is the plan here? You've dragged us all out here into a transport with some sort of weird thing in the cargo bay, had us bring a load of weapons, and told us we're going to rescue my unit. But what is the actual plan here?" the Sergeant asked.

Buffy looked up at him and smiled, "Simple: this is a fishing expedition. We're going to a space station in the Hasara system, which is supposed to be empty and irrelevant during war times, but is guarded by eight Ha'tak's. That is Goa'uld for big honking mothership for those who didn't know. I think it might be Ba'al's HQ, and where he keeps his prisoners. While this ship stays cloaked and safe, we will beam aboard using that device in the cargo bay, which was meant for the Korolev once it got off the assembly line. We'll infiltrate the station computers, and see if I am right or wrong. If I'm wrong we'll just leave quietly with all the intel we can, especially if we can get it the location of our friends. If, on the other hand, if I'm right, we'll make our way to the prisoners, tag them with the teleportation transponders, and leave."

Sergeant Bell nodded. Buffy heard the announcement that their preflight checks were complete over the radio, and she turned and focused completely on the ship. Her eyes flashed over the HUD display, taking in the entire system state. Everything looked fine. She activated the radio the SGC had retrofitted into the Goa'uld ship and said, "Tower, this is Shadow Express Ten, ready for take off."

"Permission granted. God speed, Shadow Express," the pleasant voice replied over the radio. Buffy smiled and pressed the throttle forward. The ship shot off into the air, but due to the inertial dampening, the passengers barely felt the acceleration. Buffy noticed Giles and Dawn edging closer to the viewscreen and looking around at the blue scene outside. Soon it would be black, and in a few minutes, they might see stars for a few moments before Buffy activated the hyperdrive.

Buffy sensed something and turned her head. Dawn was looking at her. "Is something up?" she asked.

"No, you just look so at ease there," Dawn mumbled.

Buffy looked down at herself, then at her hands, then back up at her sister. "Huh?" she asked in confusion.

"You just used to be a little tense whenever you drove anything," her sister commented.

Buffy wanted to say that it was because here she didn't feel like everyone was judging her faults so harshly. Sure she had been a haphazard driver, but there had been so many reasons for that. However, here, especially flying, what had been liabilities were now assets. Instead of saying that, she just shrugged and said, "Maybe I'm just meant for spaceships." She realized from the look in her sister's eyes that that had not been the right thing to say either.

They finally reached a safe distance from the Earth to enter hyperspace and Buffy activated the preset course. "Going to hyperspeed," she called out and engaged the drive. Outside everything became a cloudy pulsing blue, and Buffy relaxed a little.

"We're really traveling faster than light?" Giles asked as he studied the blue swirling world outside.

"Many times actually. We're using a little trick Jack figured out when he was under the influence of an alien database. We are only travelling about half the speed of our battle cruisers with their fancy Asgard drives, but it's a whole lot faster than any of the Goa'uld ships, except those Ba'al stole from what was left of Anubis' fleets," she said, only to realize that her old mentor was probably lacking a lot of back-story necessary to understand half of what she had just said.

"Basically, we're going so fast that it'll only take us half a day to cover half our galactic arm – something that takes weeks for most Goa'uld. Our cruisers are so fast, they can travel between galaxies with the right kind of energy booster," she explained. Giles nodded looking impressed.

"So if we're going over onto that space station with you, do we get to defend ourselves?" Xander asked.

Buffy looked at him. Her friend was nearing thirty and looking both fit and annoyed. She glanced over at Daniel, who slowly nodded. "We wouldn't let you go over there unarmed. We've brought enough party equipment for everyone. Regulations be damned," she said. To her pleasure she noted that no one from the SGC seemed upset that she wanted to step around the rules a little.

--

Willow's head was humming with throbs of pain as she opened her eyes again. She was still in the same room. "You're awakening – that is good," a voice said and coughed wetly. Willow turned her head and saw that she was alone in the cell with Bra'tac. He looked like he needed to be in a hospital. He was bruised, and several deep cuts were present in his skin. They looked like they had been closed with a branding iron.

"Forget about me. What have they done to you?" she asked.

"It is just one – Ba'al. who did this. I am the leader of a rebellion against him, and he wants to punish me for this insult. I am afraid that I have fared better than the soldiers of the Tau'ri. Earth," he corrected seeing her confusion. "I saw him kill two of them in front of me, and I fear the other ones that I did not see die have passed on as well," Bra'tac explained.

"Why not me?" Willow asked even though she wasn't exactly unhappy about it all.

"I do not know. You were in the room as well. Strapped and ready to be tortured, but when Ba'al came from another room he ordered you returned here. I am afraid he might be intending to use you for his plans. Do you share the Slayers' resistance to possession by the Goa'uld?" Bra'tac asked.

"Goa'uld? I don't know. I have some defenses," Willow refrained from telling the old man that her defenses, which would have been near perfect on her Earth, were next to irrelevant in this universe, without magical protection.

"Slayers can resist it – at least Buffy has shown this ability," Bra'tac explained.

"Huh, good for her," Willow said. "You know her well right?"

"Yes," Bra'tac replied.

Willow had been wondering about this mans relationship to her friend, ever since the old man had disapproved of her notion to take Buffy back. Willow had fought so hard to avoid repeating her old mistakes, but now she feared she might be committing another by not having considered that Buffy might not have stayed captured here. "How has her life been here?"

"I do not know much of how you knew her originally. Buffy was brought here and made younger by the Goa'uld. However, the warriors of Earth soon freed her from captivity, and one of the preeminent minds of the Earthlings, Samantha Carter, cured Buffy of a disease given to her by the process of taking away her age. This cure made Buffy Samantha Carter's biological daughter – at least partially – and so Buffy Summers came to grow up near the base of the warriors defending Earth. Being the Slayer, she soon joined with the forces of Hammond to fight the Goa'uld. She made many friends doing so, and, as she grew older, she became equally welcome amongst my people, the Tok'ra and the Asgard, whilst she became feared by the Goa'uld. The leader of our Rebellion against the false gods, Teal'c, has adopted Buffy into his household making her an honorary Jaffa; that was when I first met her. Since then, I have grown to care for the girl as if she were the daughter of one of my sons. You said earlier you had come to take her away. I believe you should reconsider. I believe she is better off here than she was with you. I may not have heard all the stories of her past, but I have been told enough to make me believe that, while you valued her as a warrior and hero, those aspects of her might have been valued so much that she was no longer thought of as your friend. It could have changed again in the time you did not get with her, but that does not change you and your group's past with Buffy. Here, there are many who treat her like a person before treating her as a hero; we have so many heroes that we value her as a friend first and hero second," Bra'tac explained with wheezing breath.

Willow didn't want to hear it at first. The part of her that did not take no as an answer. The part that could not accept loss. The part that led her astray so many times. It was that part that reared its head and called for her to ignore his arguments, but Willow had been through the darkness too many times. She had made the same mistakes for ever growing stakes for years, but no longer. She was not a little girl any more. She was an adult. and she realized she had been wrong. Willow didn't want to give up on bringing Buffy home, but she finally realized that she had to give her friend the choice.

"Well wasn't that a heartwarming tale," Faith commented through the bars.

Willow felt immediately something was off. Faith's aura was looking weird – almost diminished somehow. Her eyes looked blanker than they should.

"Your God wants to see you, Willow," Faith said, and lifted the snake-like weapon.

Willow decided enough was enough and tried to reach out for some magical energy from the world underneath them, but nothing came. Even in this universe, there should have been something, but there was no world to grant her strength. The weapon discharged and soon after, Willow once again fell into a void surrounded by pain.

--

Dawn watched as her sister guided them through the darkness of space towards the eight huge shapes that dominated the view screen in front of them. Dawn had seen and done some amazing things in her life, but she had never before seen something like that. "So we're invisible right now," she whispered, a little intimidated by the humongous space station they were approaching slowly.

"Yup, if we weren't those nice big motherships would either blow us to bits, or send a swarm of little fighters to do it for them," her sister said, while smoothly guiding the ship on its course.

"Daniel, would you mind settling us near the station. I want to get my gear on," she said.

"I would not mind. I am going with you right?" Daniel asked not even casting a glance any where but her sister, which probably meant he wasn't insisting on coming.

"No, I need someone over here to run things, and of everybody here but me, you're the best candidate. Giles and Dawn will be keeping you company," Buffy said.

"Hey I can fight," Dawn protested.

Buffy turned her head and gave her a calculating look before she asked, "How good are you with an automatic rifle? A Shotgun? Or maybe a staff weapon? Do you know how a Goa'uld space station works? Listen. I didn't bring you here to exclude you, but I'm not going to lead you into a fire-fight." Buffy turned back to Daniel.

"I'll be bringing non-coded transponder tags and we'll stay in radio contact. If we find prisoners we'll give you a call and you bring them over. I've set everything up in the beamer. You just need to push those buttons I told you about when they glow," Buffy said pointing at the interface device that was mounted on the dash board. Daniel nodded.

"They might be wounded, or infected with a Goa'uld. If they are, you cannot trust a word they say. A person can't just shake off the effects of a Goa'uld and, even if a Slayer does it, the effect of the parasite dying is almost kills you in the process. Dawn, Giles, you'll be in charge of everyone who comes over. Whomever it is, do not trust them until I have verified their identity. If we lose touch over there, you cannot trust us on our return either. If it happens power down the beaming device and isolate us with it in the cargo bay," Buffy instructed. She got out of the pilot's chair.

She picked up two of the alien guns that seemed so popular with the guards back at the SGC. She handed one to Dawn and the other to Giles. "Only shoot people once with this one, twice kills and third time disintegrates. Slayers can take up to three shots to drop unconscious just so you know. Keep them ready when we return, just in case," Buffy explained.

"Xander, you still any good with a rifle?" Buffy asked.

Xander nodded resolutely. Dawn knew that he was really proud of being a good shot, despite being blind in one eye.

"Good you're coming," said Buffy, "but remember once we're on the station, there is no arguing, and I am in charge; if not me, then one of the Marines. Got it?"

"Sure," Xander said. He was starting to look a bit overwhelmed as the otherwise silent Marines piled several weapons and ammo clips into his lap. He fought to get all of it under control.

"Sergeant, are your men ready?" Buffy asked.

"Always," the big black man said smiling. There was something almost ritualistic going on, Dawn sensed.

Buffy began slipping on various items. A small flat backpack, a belt with two of those alien snake-like guns, as well as several throwing knives. Followed by black combat gloves, two telescopic batons, and several magazines placed around on her green uniform. Finally, she grabbed an assault rifle. The Marines had geared up much like her sister. They added some armor and a helmet, while Buffy donned a pair of protective glasses. Xander stood next, but he looked like he was shocked by the weapons Buffy had donned. Dawn too was a little shocked to see her sister armed like this. Jaffa their enemy were human or humanish if the big Teal'c and his cadre of rebels were anything to judge by. Dawn realized that here Buffy would probably have to use these deadly weapons against them. Which meant her sister was really now a full soldier. The resistance Buffy had always shown to harming human things was somehow gone.

"Now let's go get our people back," Buffy said, and nodded to Daniel. There was a blinding white flash, and the entire group disappeared leaving only Dawn, Giles and Daniel, who immediately activated something.

"Everyone alright?" Daniel asked.

"It worked – nobody looks like they've been merged with a fly, or worse," Buffy's low voice whispered in the cabin.

Daniel turned towards Dawn as she stepped up next to his chair. "Now comes the hard part," he said.

"Staying behind," Giles replied.

"Someone had to," Dawn said.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, none too happily. "So, I understand you that in your universe ancient languages are often used in connection with your magic. Do you have any theories on why the old languages have to be used?" His question wasn't in the same interested tone he had used back at the SGC. Dawn knew this time their conversation was just something to pass the time.

--

Buffy looked around the room they had arrived in. It was an opulent chamber with decorations that looked vaguely Greek to her. "Probably the former room of some Goa'uld System Lord, that had been left alone," she thought.

"Alright, our first objective is some sort of computer," she ordered. The Marines quietly moved around the suite, checking each room before they gathered at the exit; they had found nothing. Buffy, with Xander standing guard, found the door opening mechanism.

"This is stealth mission, so let's try and move through here with a minimum of disruption," she said. She took hold of the raised edges of the door and felt her arms strain as she pushed the heavy door open slightly, allowing her to peek outside into a well lit corridor. There were three other doors and two more corridors crossing it. She could see no guards, so she turned her head to Bell, who had placed himself at the door button, and nodded.

The door slid open and Buffy quickly headed for the nearest door. She listened for noises from the inside, but heard nothing. She guessed this was a residential area of the station, and probably not occupied at the moment. She opened the door, and slipped into another suite much like the first, yet even more opulent. In a corner, she spotted what she had been looking for: an innocent looking metal box with a sphere on top. It was a typical Goa'uld computer terminal and communications device. Everyone filed in behind her, and one of the Marines shut the door. The soldiers found cover and watched the door. Buffy walked over to the terminal with Xander trailing behind.

Remembering all her flight lessons, and her training with the Tok'ra, Buffy put her hand on the device and focused her will, energizing the naquadah traces in her blood. The device sprang to life and like most equipment meant for use the Goa'uld and not their slaves, it projected its images in her mind. Rows of Goa'uld lettering and pictograms appeared in her view. She started changing them by focusing her intent. She wanted a simple floor plan as a minimum, and prisoner locations at best.

"What are you doing?" Xander whispered.

"Getting the information we need," Buffy replied tersely, trying hard to keep her concentration.

The floor plan turned out to be simple, and had probably always been very public as a measure to keep the paranoid System Lords from killing each other while here. The internal sensor information was in a part of the system protected by a password. Buffy reached up and activated her mike. "This might be a little while. Ba'al has password protections set in place," she told everyone in the room and on the ship.

Buffy started thinking about what she knew about Ba'al, when Daniel's voice came in her earphone. "Mr. Giles says he has a few suggestions for passwords, based on what he knows of the mythology of Ba'al on Earth. I might have some words you could try as well," Daniel offered.

"Feel free – I ain't no hacker, that's for sure," Buffy replied.

For a while she tried different words Giles threw out until he said, and she thought, "habba'al". The interface changed showing her more functions and information, such as power distribution and the various orders to slaves issued through the lesser systems controlled by the Jaffa. "I got in. Thanks guys," she said.

She immediately went to work, until she found the location of the prison cells and confirmed that there were registered several Tau'ri and a Jaffa as prisoners, without any names being recorded. "They're here. We need to go two decks down and head towards the station core," she said. "The nearest elevator is to the left, down the corridor until we get to the first crossing, then it should be the first door on the right," Buffy said and opened the door.

She didn't run ahead. Her instincts told her to, but her training was better than that. Some parts of her wanted to hunt for her enemy – the one that had brought her friends to a place where there were several areas designated as torture chambers on the map. Buffy fought to keep a cool head. They advanced together, making as little noise as possible.

Just as she was half-way to the elevators, the elevator doors slid open. The distinct sound of Jaffa metallic boots was clear even before she saw them emerge from the elevator. She was already moving forward at full speed as she tore her zats from their holsters, and jumped sideways facing towards the elevators. She saw the surprised faces of four Jaffa, but she didn't look too hard, busy as she was with firing her weapons. Two volleys and fours hits. She landed inelegantly just past the elevators, the noise she made covered by the Jaffa collapsing in pain.

Buffy got up and holstered her guns. The Marines had already caught on and were moving towards the Jaffa. Only one remained to cover the way they had come, along with Xander who was looking at her like she had grown another head. "What?" she asked.

Xander just shook his head ruefully. "Just getting used to things," he replied.

She motioned for everyone to get into the elevator as the Marines returned. Once they were in, she pressed the down button. The huge room started humming and she felt it move down.

They emerged into hallways that were familiar to anyone who knew Goa'uld architecture. Thankfully the same genetic memory that allowed the Goa'uld to keep so many technological secrets also meant that a lot of their stuff was designed in exactly the same way. They headed down the halls towards where the computer had indicated the prisoners should be.

There were no guards in sight, but Buffy heard the faint noise of metal against metal as they were about to step past a bulkhead. She reached around the corner and grabbed the guard standing there before he could react. Given his height she didn't pull him up. Instead she held on as hard as she could and pumped her legs down. They impacted the ceiling hard, the Jaffa and his helmet leading the way. As the thunderous noise died down, she dropped the slumped over guard to the ground.

"Damn, that was too noisy – sorry everyone. We have to expect ambushes and alarms soon," she apologized, and motioned everyone forward. They turned a corner and spotted Bra'tac looking at them through the bars of a cell.

"Buffy, you're here," he greeted her. One of the marines opened the door, and she held the wounded Jaffa up as he nearly fell forward.

"What about the other prisoners, sir? Where they brought here with you?" Sergeant Bell asked.

"Yes, but they were all executed for Ba'al's pleasure, except for Buffy's friends. The two girls – Faith and Satsu – they are now under Ba'al's control," Bra'tac answered. He looked down at her with a worried look in his eyes. "I do not know if they were given Nish'ta or a parasite. They came and took Willow away,"

"When?" Buffy said urgently. The thought of Willow with a Goa'uld, or under the effects of Nish'ta, were equally frightening.

"Not long ago," Bra'tac admitted.

"We have to find them," Buffy said. "Here, a weapon," Buffy said and gave Bra'tac one of her zat's.

--

On the outskirts of the star system, three silvery ships that appeared to be part of the Asgard fleet exited hyperspace. One of the ships activated its drive, but at the moment of the hyperspace window opening, the ship shuddered then broke apart into a hail of smaller components. The hail passed through the window after which the it closed with a blue flash. The two other ships stayed their course, slowly advancing through the star system.

--

Daniel noticed something on the sensors and couldn't help gasping. Two large metallic objects, not shaped like Ha'tak motherships, had appeared on the outskirts of the solar system.

The viewscreen showed that the larger Ha'tak ships seemed to have detected the same. Four of the eight broke off from their positions around the station and executed short hyperjumps.

The sensors on their Tel'tak, enhanced with both the Tok'ra and Earth's Asgard derived technology, seemed to be throwing a fit. Several indicators of danger appeared in Asgard leaving behind the one word he did not want to see at that moment: Replicator.

"Not good. Listen you should strap yourselves in. A major threat just arrived in the system, and we might need to flee almost immediately," he warned his two guests.

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, while doing as he had told her.

"The Replicators you heard about in the meeting. Two of their ships are starting an attack on this system," Daniel explained.

"So? Eight of those against two ships, those replicator things will lose right?" Dawn asked, clearly and naturally impressed with the immense size of the Goa'uld ships. Daniel only wished he could believe that, but the Replicators had access to most or almost all of the Asgard technology, which meant that they were vastly stronger than the Goa'uld. On top of that came all of the robots many other advantages, and the other technologies they had acquired.

"You can't be sure of that. The Goa'uld haven't been winning against the Replicators in battle, even when they vastly outnumbered them," he explained. He got ready to activate the radio.

--

Willow's head was throbbing, and her mouth tasted almost metallic. "Ah you're awake. Our master bids me to give you his blessing," Faith said, standing over her. Satsu appeared from the background. She was dressed in what Willow could only consider slave girl clothes. They were combinations of white and gold that left little unpacking to the imagination, but really inflamed the passions – even in Willow's current situation.

"You will be his most favored servant, and maybe once you convince him of your use, you'll be possessed by a god," Satsu said.

Willow was more worried about Faith, who had brought out a strange golden statue. Willow didn't like what was happening. Clearly some sort of brainwashing was planned. She drew in breath to speak a spell, ready to use her own life force to power it. There was a metallic noise and Willow saw Satsu turn her head.

"Faith! No!" the still familiar voice of Buffy yelled. Faith looked up and stopped doing whatever it was she was doing to the golden statue head.

"She is not allowed here. Kill her," another voice, a male one, commanded.

--

Sergeant Bell wanted to curse at Summers as she suddenly left him with two Marines holding a nearly unconscious Bra'tac and the one-eyed civilian he didn't know too well. The fighting machine called Buffy had reacted before he could suggest laying down suppressive fire.

"What's going on?" the civilian asked while Buffy ducked a well swung punch from the Asian girl.

"Those two are being mind controlled in some way," he said through ground teeth as Ba'al who had been sitting in the background was quickly protected a force field. Sergeant Bell recognized a ring platform at the cowardly System Lord's left side. The Goa'uld would escape. Still he decided to try and slow the parasite down but laying down some fire in that direction.

"Shit! Buffy against two Slayers. Both Satsu and Faith are as good as Buffy used to be," Xander cursed. Then saw something behind the three-girl brawl. "Willow," the boy called out and ran forward. Bell and his men, busy with firing at Ba'al, couldn't grab the man in time.

--

Buffy ducked under the well-timed, if a little slow, punch thrown by the Asian girl. She could sense the Slayer in the girl just as she could sense Faith coming at her from the side. It was a little strange though – as if those essences were different from hers. The connection from the past had changed into something new. Buffy backflipped twice to avoid the two girls' almost simultaneous kicks toward her. It surprised her a little when she realized that her opponents were fighting with the same style – the improvised combination of Kickboxing, Taekwondo and all around dirty fighting – that Giles had trained her in, back in the old days. However, what surprised her even more was that the many styles she had been taught in this universe, gave her a plethora of counter-moves to those styles, and she seemed to have much more time to think her moves through.

She stepped forward, then took hold of the Asian girl by the shoulders, moving past another powerful kick. Buffy quickly span around swinging the unbalanced girl with her and threw her with all her strength into Faith, who had been charging in for a sneak attack on her unprotected back. The two girls tumbled into a messy pile of Slayers.

"I don't sense a Goa'uld," Buffy thought and reached back to draw a zat figuring her sister Slayer would thank her for a jolt that would clear any Nish'ta if that was what Ba'al had used.

Faith however was no slouch. She had extricated herself enough from Satsu to throw a small knife that had been hidden in her rather skimpy outfit. It embedded itself in Buffy's upper arm causing her to drop the gun. Needing to dull the distracting pain, Buffy pulled out the knife while running towards Faith, as the black haired Slayer got to her feet.

Instead of launching into a long hard kick, that could waste time, Buffy used her momentum to throw herself elbow first at Faith. The Slayer tried to block Buffy, but the force and momentum was too much, and Faith was launched past Xander who was trying to free Willow. Buffy heard the sound of a ring platform and guessed Ba'al had left the room.

She stood over Satsu. The girl was awake and about to jump up and attack her. Buffy did the pragmatic thing and aimed first one then several hard kicks into the girl's guts. It had the result Buffy needed: Satsu retched on the floor. As the girl heaved out her meager stomach contents, Buffy performed a hard circle kick to the back of the girl's head, forcing it down and hammering it into the floor. The Asian girl passed out.

It had, however, cost Buffy too much time. Faith's flying kick slammed Buffy back and for a moment she was winded and dazed on the floor next to the opposite wall.

"Get up! Get away!" Her mind screamed in anger. Buffy rolled sideways as Faith's heel hit where her temple had just been. Faith towered over her, but Buffy just recalled her Jui Jitsu lessons. She reached up, pressed her hands against the wall for leverage, and kicked the girl as hard as she could in knee. The crack was ghastly. Faith fell down screaming. Buffy reached along the wall where her dropped zat lay. She picked it up and shot first Faith, then Satsu once each, hoping that the effects of the Nish'ta she suspected to be affecting them would leave them soon.

"Oh my god Buffy," Xander said.

"This cures them off the mind control," Buffy replied after wincing at the tone in his voice. Willow was studying her and Buffy found herself staring back at her slightly older best friend. Willow's hair was a different color – a much darker red than Buffy had seen her with before, but it didn't look bad on her. Willow gave her a small wave, which Buffy returned.

"Buffy, we have Replicators incoming," Daniel's voice came over the radio but it sounded badly scrambled.

"Then we have to get out of here," she replied.

"Agreed, but you have to move up some floors, you're too close to the station's power core for the Beaming device to guarantee a safe retrieval," Daniel explained.

"Okay, I got what could be salvaged over here, and we're coming back now," she replied.

"We've got to hurry," she said to her team, "Ba'al is about to send the entire Jaffa contingent this way and we have several wounded to take care of. Xander, you're in charge of Willow. Bell you grab Satsu, and I'll take care of Faith. We're headed back to the elevators. And remember if you see one of those robotic crabs shoot the shit out of it and never stop moving."

"Oh, before I forget. You guys have to take one of these. Put one on Satsu and Faith too," Buffy said and handed them each one of the transponders they needed to be picked up by the beaming device.

--

Daniel looked up and saw something weird. A hyperspace window flashed open almost directly next to the station, but no ship emerged. Instead, a veritable hail of smaller objects came through like a gray storm. It smashed into the side of station, creating small craters at each impact site. The entire station was rocked and small explosions occurred here and there. Yet as always in space, aboard their ship it felt like nothing was happening. Again, the sensors lit up with warnings.

"Oh, god," he said and immediately activated the radio again. "Everyone you have to hurry. The Replicators just started invading the station," he said.

"What? Okay, we'll hustle," Buffy's crackling voice replied. At least they might keep some of the Jaffa occupied.

Next to him Dawn turned in her seat and looked towards the cargo bay. "I thought I heard something," she said. Daniel wrinkled his brow and activated the sensors of the Tel'tak for an internal scan. It came up all clear.

--

Willow glanced over at Buffy who was carrying Faith over her shoulder, only managing because of shear Slayer strength. "Buffy, are Giles and Dawn okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're back on the ship we came in," Buffy replied.

"This is all a bit more sci-fi than we're used too, right?" Xander asked her.

"A bit," she replied. She couldn't help smiling – even in their situation, having both Xander and Buffy next to her and still alive made her feel both relieved and happy.

"Then we can go home as soon as we're together?" she suggested. Xander nodded, but Buffy gave her a look that wasn't pleased.

"Listen, we can talk about it on the ship," Buffy said. Suddenly there was a crash and two of the tall Jaffa warriors came running across the intersection ahead of them, firing their staff weapons at something out of sight to the left. Willow thought she heard some sort of metallic tapping noise, then suddenly a spider-like robot came charging out of the corridor. It stopped, made a chirping noise, and turned towards them. Xander brought up his weapon and fired it precisely at the robot. Several bullet peppered the thing before it fell apart under Xander and the marines' gunfire, who joined him only moments after he had reacted.

"Xander, Willow, you have to take Faith," Buffy said. Before they could respond they found themselves holding the slayer. The girl was coming too, but Willow hoped she wouldn't wake up just yet. The ghastly shattered knee Buffy had given her would be incredibly painful. Buffy brought up her assault rifle – something Willow would never have conceived of her friend wielding – and fired immediately as the next spider-thing appear out of the corridor.

They made it into the intersection and turned right, with Buffy and the huge gunnery sergeant with his shotgun trying to cover their escape, when there was a high pitched noise. Willow glanced over her shoulder and saw Buffy and the marine enveloped in a white light. Then it surrounded them as well.

Willow tried to blink the light from her eyes, and found herself in a cramped space that contained a gigantic device covered in strange lights and humming with power. Everyone else was around her.

"We made it," Buffy said and finally smiled in relief before heading through a set of doors into a large spacious cockpit. Dawn stood there in the opening with one of the snake-like guns pointed at them and greeted her sister. Willow was happy to see those two reunited. Then she noticed the look on Buffy's face. It didn't have the same happiness written across it as Dawn's. Bra'tac, the old man from her cell, walked into her view looking none too happy.

"Do I just let you pass?" Dawn asked.

"We didn't lose touch with anyone and Buffy would have sensed a Goa'uld by now," a man seated in the cockpit replied.

"Danny, let me get us out of here. We should be okay, but let's be careful of each other until we're home," Buffy said and slipped into the seat the man had just vacated. Willow gaped at Xander, who just shrugged.

"She can fly these things now. She naturally isn't entirely the same Buffy that left us five years ago. A lot of things have happened," he whispered in a tone that seemed to grow increasing impressed as Buffy activated the control while still wearing her combat gear.

The ship hummed for a moment and the device next to her seemed to dim then wink out.

"Strange, there is some sort of sensor echo from the cloaking field," Buffy said. Suddenly one of the metallic spiders jumped onto the viewscreen.

"Shit," Dawn yelled and jumped back.

"Crap," Buffy agreed. The spider seemed to silently wink at them with its mandibles when suddenly the high pitched noise reappeared and both Buffy and the man next to her in the other chair disappeared in intense white light. The spider seemed to attack the windscreen, making it crack on the first try. The black sergeant jumped forward as did Bra'tac. The older man pushed a button and the spider seemed to be flung off by some sort of force field appearing over the outer skin of the ship. He then pushed other buttons and the view outside seemed to move. Orange balls of light rocked past them.

"We've been discovered. We have to run," Bra'tac said.

"But my sister? Where is she? Where did they go?" Dawn asked.

The sergeant answered, "The Replicators took them."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Buffy arrived wherever she was at speed. There was a white flash and she flew across a silvery room towards a wall. She tried to protect herself by raising her arms in front of her, but to no avail. She smacked into the wall and slid down, feeling uncertain if the world was spinning or not. She heard the replicators before she felt them. Little metallic legs skittered all over her making her skin tingle as they passed at lightning speed removing all her weapons, but leaving her gloves.

"Move away," a harsher version of her mother's voice commanded. Buffy felt sudden relief flooding her body. Gentle warm hands reached down and removed her ballistic goggles. Buffy gasped as she saw her mom dressed in earth toned civvies. In her head, things added up to a ghastly sum.

"You're her," Buffy said and flipped into a standing position, moving by instinct into a battle stance.

Her mom's doppelganger tilted its head slightly then gave Buffy a completely normal and friendly smile, like it really was her mom. "You're fine yes? I was afraid relaying you across the galaxy through the collective network of my brethren might not work perfectly, but you both arrived just fine," RepliCarter, as Jack had named her, said.

"No, I'm not fine. I... Both?" Buffy looked around but there was no one else in the entire sealed chamber.

"I picked up a prize aside from you," RepliCarter said. A holographic image of Daniel appeared between them. "He will help us advance," the copy of her mom explained.

"Us? I am not going to help you. Are you going to make a bad copy of me, just like Fifth did with my mom, and call it perfect even though it'll be as soulless as you?" Buffy asked.

The advanced Replicator looked at her with steely eyes for a moment then shook its head, the eyes switching to forgiveness. "You don't understand yet. I am not Anubis. I have your former mother's memories of what you told him he tried. I will not repeat Fifth's mistake and think that if I copy someone, I get everything I want from them. No, I will do exactly the right thing. You'll belong to me forever – mother and daughter as we should be." The artificial being reached out to stroke her chin like her mom usually did, but Buffy ducked aside.

"You and me, we're not mother and daughter. We never will be. And I don't belong to anyone. A real mom would know that," Buffy replied, feeling an increasing cold knot of fear in her stomach. She was guessing she was aboard a Replicator vessel somewhere far from her original position. If so, she was in the middle of the enemy forces, and there would be no way that she could fight her way out of there using physical force. Even worse, the thing in front of her had some sort of obsessive idea that Buffy should be her daughter, and the fervor apparent in the thing's eyes was scaring her.

"You will be my daughter, nobody else's. Now excuse me, I want to go and greet Daniel," RepliCarter said. It wandered through a door that appeared in the wall to Buffy's left, and then just as quickly disappeared.

--

The silence in the cockpit of the Tel'tak was deafening to Dawn. She had woken up from her nap just a few minutes earlier. She turned and looked at the wounded old man who had been expertly piloting the craft back to Earth in silence for a long while. "Were they only trying to get Buffy and Daniel?" she asked him.

"I am sorry, Tau'ri, I do not know. Those metal beasts have access to greater technology than that of the Goa'uld. It would seem that they wanted only Buffy Summers and Daniel Jackson. They are persons of great value to the Tau'ri, but what this means to the Replicators, I do not know," Bra'tac said, or at least Dawn guessed, he was the Bra'tac Buffy had so wanted to rescue.

"Please call me Dawn," she said.

"I am Bra'tac. What is the name of your family?" Bra'tac asked turning towards her.

"Summers, my name is Dawn Marie Summers," she replied.

"That makes you Buffy Summers' blood sister then. I am honored to meet you. Your sister has spoken of you with great affection many times in the past." Bra'tac saluted her before turning back to his work at the console, while Dawn wondered if all the Jaffa were so formal and stoic, or just those Buffy had befriended. She hoped for her sister that some of them, at least, were hot.

"So what now? Do we just let those Replicator things make off with Buffy?" Xander asked.

"The sensors didn't pick them up on the station, or any of the wrecks of the Goa'uld ships, so the Replicator ships took them along when they left. We can't keep up with those in this barge, and even if we could, this ship would get munched up and turned into more Replicators while we would die. There is nothing we can do right now, so we're returning to base, which, I can tell you, is not something I am happy about doing," one of the marines said. Sergeant Bell was brooding at the back end of the cockpit.

"Why not?" Giles asked.

"Well, for one thing we've retreated, and for the second time now, have had to leave people behind. That is something that is not usually on the menu for Marines. Not ever. And just as bad, we lost Summers and Jackson, pretty much two of the most beloved people at the SGC. Even if we get them back alright – and I wouldn't write them off yet – the General or the Colonel is gonna hear about it, and they're gonna be pissed... Oh shit Sergeant, Teal'c," the Marines turned and looked at the Sergeant, who just nodded grimly.

"He is too busy to do shit to anyone now. Right?" the last marine said.

"Yeah, but you can bet he'll try to make sure he gets to rescue her," the blond marine said. At Dawn's questioning look he said, "Teal'c's got this blood bond thing with Summers. If she gets in trouble, he goes all Hannibal Lecter, at least supposedly. One of the stories at the SGC has it that he dangled one of the Air Force boys in an elevator shaft for making a comment about Summers' ass. And he once got a small army of Jaffa together to rescue her when Anubis had her kidnapped. That's a fact," the marine concluded.

"Teal'c has adopted Buffy Summers Carter into his house, meaning that she is, until she is wed, like a daughter to him, and must be protected," said Bra'tac, as their ship hammered out of hyperspace and began gliding towards an orbit around Earth. "Of course as with all Carters, she does as much protecting as she is protected. At the moment Teal'c will not be able to spare the time to rescue her, and neither I fear, will we."

"I'm almost ready to vote to let whoever has her keep her," Faith commented from in the back. "Damn Buffy fucked me up," Faith said, "I get that she had to, but damn. And that shit won't affect us again you say?"

"That is correct," Bra'tac remarked, still staying focused on the console.

"Man, I hope I get better in time to kick the shit out of someone or something. That Ba'al guy made me his bitch. No one is allowed to do that," Faith paused and seemed loose interest in the conversation, while the Marines kept talking about Teal'c and the procedures on landing. "I hope B is alright though, and fuck my leg is throbbing," Faith whispered only loud enough for Dawn, who was seated next to the Slayer in the co-pilots seat to hear. Dawn figured it had only been meant for Faith's own ears and so didn't say anything.

"Shadow Express Ten, this is SGC, what is your status?" a voice came over a radio.

"This is Bra'tac. I and Buffy Summers' allies were rescued, but your warriors were not. I must speak with Teal'c, General O'Neill and Colonel Carter on my arrival. It is most urgent. Also we have several wounded aboard." There was a half minute pause as they slowed and orbited the Earth. Dawn couldn't believe how beautiful the planet looked, and realized the truth her sister had spoken before. She wondered how much Buffy loved her current life. Had that love outgrown her sister's love for he? she contemplated as the seconds ticked away.

"Roger, Master Bra'tac, you have a clear approach to the Mountain," the radio voice replied as they flew in on a vector towards the SGC.

--

Dawn wanted to gasp, but she wasn't sure she dared when the airlock opened on their ship. A platoon of soldiers were outside pointing rifles and other bigger high tech looking weapons at them.

"Whoa," Willow said Bra'tac seemed to take it all in stride though.

"Please disarm yourselves. The ship needs to be scanned for Replicators and you need to go through a standard security sweep," an officer said. The Marines nodded, and acted like they had been expecting it. Dawn noticed they and Bra'tac had not brought out any of their equipment.

"Would you guys get a move on, we need to be ready to go out again soon," Sergeant Bell barked as he exited.

"Keep your pants on Bell, you know the procedure," the officer said.

"Yes, sir," Bell replied, but the other soldiers did move faster helping the marines with the two still hurt Slayers.

"What about these civilians?" the officer asked.

"They're VIPs that the General is expecting," Bell responded.

"Alright, the guard down below will verify their access permissions," the officer said and waved them on.

Dawn was expecting to be taken to some sort of elevator, like the one by which they had left the first time, as they were led to an empty area near the transport ship. Instead there was noise and several rings flew up from an opening in the floor and they were enveloped in light. Next thing ,they had been teleported down into a room barely large enough for the group.

"Welcome, please remain calm while the system scans you to verify you are not bringing in any unwanted guests," a voice said over a loudspeaker. "Sergeant, are the civilians the party noted as guests of the Slayer?" Dawn looked up to see a young Airman through a pane of glass.

"Yeah," the Sergeant confirmed.

"Then you're all in the clear and the medics have just arrived," he said, as the heavy doors swung open.

Immediately the Marines put Faith and Satsu onto gurneys, while a Medic approached Bra'tac. "Please I do not have time to be treated at the moment. I have to speak with Teal'c," he responded and waved the medic off.

"I will go with Faith and Satsu. Xander, Willow, Dawn: you should go with Master Bra'tac," Giles said. The Marines gave Giles a look, but didn't say anything.

"Yeah, we need to help them get Buffy back," Willow said and they followed Bra'tac, who had asked a nearby Airman for guidance, to the General.

"So this is where Buffy works? It's kinda cool," Willow said as they walked through the tunnels deep beneath the Earth.

"Yeah, Buffy has turned into sci-fi soldier girl. She seems to be happy though," Xander admitted.

"You sound disappointed," Willow commented.

Xander stopped for a moment, making Dawn almost bump into him. He started walking again "Okay, I guess I haven't exactly been down with new Buffy and her exciting new life. I wanted this to be clean and simple, just for once. I didn't... I hadn't considered that Buffy would be like this. You know, she hasn't said it, but I don't think she really wants to return with us," Xander explained.

"I see," Willow said, not sounding as surprised as Dawn had expected.

"How could you not be surprised by this?" Dawn asked.

"He laid some wisdom on me," Willow said, nodding towards Bra'tac, who was walking ahead of them probably pretending not to hear every word they were saying. "And I think he might have been more right than I want him to be."

"You haven't seen everything around here – this isn't exactly a family environment. I can't shake this feeling I keep getting that Buffy is being used a little by the people around here," Xander added.

"And were we any better?" Dawn asked, giving Xander a look.

Xander glanced at her and looked away thinking. "Maybe not all the time," he admitted.

"I think there were times in the past, we stopped being friends with Buffy, and somehow ended up being just allies," said Willow. "It started happening in college. We lost respect for her; we didn't try to understand the hardships and responsibility that was on her shoulders. We were so busy with our own stuff that sometimes we just expected Buffy to be, and act, how we wanted her. But she had her own issues, and I think maybe we overlooked a lot of the things that happened to her outside of her calling. T... Tara told me once that she thought Buffy needed someone to care for her, and just for her, without demanding anything back," Willow explained.

"You're not serious," Xander said.

"Of course I am. Sure the First might have been influencing us when we threw Buffy out of her own home, but we can't blame it for using what was already there. Considering all that happened, did we ever apologize to Buffy for that? Did we apologize for ganging up on her when she did things differently from what we wanted, or when you sicked Faith on Angel without any proof of him being evil?" Willow asked.

Xander stopped and looked at Willow, but he didn't say anything at first. "We've all made mistakes, Buffy had..." he took a breath to continue.

"Yeah, but we made her admit her faults publicly, shaming her almost, or we pointed them out to other people sniping at her behind her back. I did it several times," Dawn said.

"Private stuff guys," Xander said, as they entered an area filled with people that could be new friends of Buffy.

"Bra'tac, good to see you," General O'Neill said in greeting.

"To be continued," Willow said aiming a look at Dawn and Xander in turn. Dawn nodded and Xander did the same as they settled in behind Bra'tac.

"General O'Neill. I am the bearer of bad news. Is Teal'c nearby?" Bra'tac said.

"More bad news." Jack sighed. "Okay thanks for the warning. Hold up on it for a moment though, because I gotta tell ya, Teal'c went on ahead with the other rebel leaders. The Replicators are attacking, and the Jaffa were starting to see them as a punishment from the Gods. They were starting to defect from your cause in droves, so he went to conquer some place called Dakara from Ba'al."

"Dakara?," Bra'tac said looking surprised.

"Yeah, with Ba'al's fleet occupied elsewhere he thought he had a chance. He told me it is important to you guys," Jack said.

"It is a bold move that could move the Jaffa to stay with our cause yes; however, it is deep in Ba'al's territory..Is Colonel Carter available then?"

"No, she is away working with the Asgard, trying to find a weapon that is effective against the Replicators," Jack said and glanced at his watch. "They should be returning soon. What is it Bra'tac?"

"I sorry to report that the Marines that were imprisoned with us were killed, and the Replicators have kidnapped Buffy Carter and Daniel Jackson."

"What! Oh, fucking hell, like things aren't bad enough already. Do we have an idea where they went?" he asked.

"None," Bra'tac responded.

"I could find her, but it would be hard," Willow interjected.

"Huh, hi there, who are you?" Jack asked.

"Uhm, sorry. Hi, I am Willow, and I could find Buffy with a spell I know."

"A spell? And your name really is Willow not a nickname. Seriously? I thought Buffy was joking about that part. How appropriate."

"Yeah, I guess it was fated to be Willow, or maybe Sabrina," Willow responded.

"Or Glenda. Anyway, that stuff works here too?"

"Yeah, I would need some sort of symbolic way of viewing the galaxy so that I could dowse for Buffy, but it should work, at least if I can gather up enough energy," Willow said.

"Uh, okay, so, what, do you need some batteries or something?" Jack smiled at his little private joke.

"Right analogy, wrong kind of energy. I am going to pull in some life energy, but I will be using a very wide area so at worst any nearby sick people would heal a little slower. And yes, I can do it so that no one that is dying gets pulled from," Willow explained.

"Even so, you shouldn't do it yet. Even if we knew to the millimeter where Buffy and Danny were, right now I couldn't spare the men or ships to even make an attempt at freeing them, and even worse, it wouldn't work if I did. Our ships can't even scratch the shields of Replicator ships. We have to stay defensive until we have a working weapon again. You wouldn't happen have a spell to, oh I don't know, wipe a race of killer robots from the Galaxy?"

"No, and honestly, I wouldn't want that kind of power, or the bad karma that would be attached to doing so," Willow replied.

The General studied Willow as Colonel Carter appeared in a flash of light at a run. She took two steps and just managed to avoid crashing into Jack. "Sorry sir. Master Bra'tac, welcome back," she said.

"Hi Carter. Exercising while teleporting? Is that normal?" O'Neill asked.

"We tried the improved disruptor weapon on a Replicator ship. It worked the first time, but the next one that appeared had already adapted. We fled, but some Replicators had already boarded Thor's ship. He beamed me down and is taking his ship as far away from Earth as he can," Buffy's adoptive mom explained. Dawn couldn't shake her slight antipathy towards the woman that had replaced her mom in Buffy's life, no matter that the woman seemed caring, kind and Willow-level intelligent.

"Wonder what's next? Anubis returning to life?" the General asked rhetorically, and shook his head, while still managing to remain calm and collected in his expression, as if the recent news was not so bad.

"Hey, welcome back to the rest of you as well. Did it go well? Is Buffy around?" Carter asked with a friendly, if cautious, smile on seeing them standing behind Bra'tac.

"No, the Replicators have kidnapped your daughter and Daniel Jackson," Bra'tac blurted out. Dawn thought that this might have been a good time for that tact thing Giles was always telling them about.

Carter seemed to freeze on the spot before she blinked and said, "oh no, this is my fault again isn't it? The other one. I should never have even talked to her, just shot her with the disruptor and been done with it all." She turned towards the General. "Sir, I know we cannot spare the men, nor do we have any good chance at a rescue, but we are going to try?"

The General went from looking unfazed to very serious and sorry. "Sam, I wish we could try right now, but without a working weapon, there is no way. I am not sure we can save them in time either. Your copy is damn smart, and she is already kicking the Goa'uld's asses up and down the galaxy. I don't want to make Earth any bigger a target on her radar screen than it is already, and you can be sure the Advisory board will think the same. We will plan to rescue them of course – we're going to make one for sure – but what it is and when it is going to be, I have no clue. We have maybe two weeks to save the galaxy from being completely over run and I can't take time for something personal right now – not even for Buffy and Daniel, much as it pains me. Galaxy first, personal second. Both of them would want us to do it that way."

"Yeah, Buffy would want us to save people first," Dawn said thinking out loud. Carter looked at her with pity in her eyes, reminding Dawn that the woman probably knew her entire sordid life history.

"I understand sir," Carter replied. "I will go see if I can come up with some sort of improvement to the designs Thor and I developed." She walked away looking none too focused or happy.

The General waited until the Colonel had left the room before saying, "Now I know you guys want to save your friend as well, but right now there is not a whole lot you can do..."

"We know. I think I speak for everyone when I say we hate it, but until we create a good plan we have nothing to add. But if possible, we would like to help you anyway we can. I am feeling so damned useless right now," Xander offered.

"I think we could use some cool heads to lend a hand. Stay close, especially tree-girl. We might need that voodoo that you do soon. Feel free to mention any brilliant planet-saving plans you might come up with as well."

"I will go through the Gate and join my brethren on Dakara," Bra'tac said.

"Shouldn't you go to the infirmary instead?" O'Neill asked the older man.

"I, like you, do not have the luxury of time right now. Ba'al, distracted or not, will not let Dakara stay in Rebel hands for long. I will go and be with my people for this crucial moment," Bra'tac replied.

"Talk to Walter, he'll get your dialed out ," the General said and waved over an orderly.

"These guys wanna help, assign them to defense and medical on this level. Make sure they're temporarily cleared to be here," he told the orderly waving his hand at them before striding off.

--

Ba'al looked up as his rather abruptly promoted new First Prime entered the bridge of his ship, as it fled the wreckage that had been his space station. "My Lord, the Rebel Jaffa have conquered Dakara and are now holding the temple," he said after saluting him.

"I see. Turn half the fleet around and have it go to Dakara, we will join with it there. Have the other half of the fleet cover our retreat," he said, and waved the man away. He waited for him to leave before he went over to a small alcove where one of his dearly won prizes rested in secret. It was a copy of a very secret database, a back up of Anubis' plans and projects made by the Goa'uld himself. It had ended up in the hands of Osiris, probably by deceit, and when that subservient idiot had disappeared on the Tau'ri planet again, it had come to him during his rapid takeover after Anubis died. It was his primary source of power over the other System Lords. It had given him the secrets to a lot of Anubis' technology, and it was also his best hope of a means to defeat the current scourge. The Rebel attack on Dakara couldn't have come at a worse time. He called up the entry in the database. The difficult to translate Ancient language teased him with its cryptic messages only slowly translated to a proper tongue, but the single words that he knew stood out to him. Dakara. He knew the passage by now, but he read it again just to reassure himself. A weapon that could destroy or create all life in the galaxy in one blow.

--

Buffy couldn't stand the monotony or silence any longer. Her stomach was growling and she really needed to find a way out of the now circular prison room the Replicators had trapped her in. She had thumped the walls until it made her hands hurt. She had paced restlessly until she realized it made her look like a caged animal. There was a noise and the wall disassembled to admit the copy again. Buffy could see Daniel on the other side. He was locked into a recess to the wall of the next room and looked like he was sleeping.

"What are you doing to him?" She asked and ran forward hoping to get closer to the only other human nearby.

"Nothing yet. He still resists me. I will deal with that soon enough," RepliCarter said and gave Buffy an intense look as she interposed herself between Buffy and the rapidly closing hole. She slammed into the copy of her mom and it just stood there unmoved by her entire force. Buffy stumbled back and stood a yard from the thing awaiting the other shoe to drop, which she was expecting at any moment.

"You must be made ready too. First we have to condition you, and then when my knowledge is sufficient, we'll begin your assimilation. A wonderful term that one. I seem to recall some sci-fi show on Earth favored it," RepliCarter said and grabbed Buffy's left wrist.

"Fuck that," Buffy said and reacted as came naturally to her. She stepped closer to the copy again and tried to push herself off it with her left foot to free her arm entirely. However, RepliCarter didn't even step back. Instead it grabbed Buffy's thigh as she was vertical, and rushed her forward. Buffy felt stark pain in her head as she slammed against the wall. The robot's vice like hands manhandled her to stand against the wall in the same helpless manner as she had seen Daniel do in the other room. Several straps made of Replicator blocks came free from the walls and locked over her ankles, thighs, wrists and upper arms. Blocks pushed out from the wall.

"Stop! Don't do this to me," Buffy said trying to sound resolute as she was slowly recessed into the wall. A block appeared in her field of view then another. Block by Replicator block, Buffy was sealed in. She blinked and found herself free, but in darkness.

"This is in my mind," Buffy guessed out loud, as she could move freely in the darkness, but there was no up or down – no floor no gravity. She looked down and found herself dressed in a simple black dress exactly like the replica of her mom wore.

"What is this!" she screamed.

"It is the first step. I can't replicate you; attempting to do so would not yield a worthy child. Therefore, I am going to make you like me, once I've learned exactly how. Daniel's knowledge from the Ancients will help me, so I am going to have to devote my time to him for a while. Wait here," the colder than normal copy of her mom's voice said from somewhere in the darkness.

Buffy wanted to call for help. She needed to struggle; that was in her nature. She didn't want to become a Replicator: she was certain that wasn't possible to become one without losing who she was. She feared that insane thing wearing her mom's face was going to kill her, but slowly and in the process, devour her body bit by bit, and this was something she couldn't defend against with her abilities as a warrior.

--

Dawn was regretting Xander's offer to have the Scoobies help out more and more by the moment. Some teams of soldiers had gotten back wounded, and while, thankfully, she wasn't a trained nurse or doctor having to cut and sew, drug and provide care, she had been assigned to the Infirmary, partly to keep an eye on the resting Slayers. Giles had been assigned to the apparently well-funded archeology department. At the moment, she felt there was no justice in the world: she should have been with Giles using her linguistic brilliance, but instead she had just lugged a huge mound of sweaty, dirty and bloody military clothes, mostly reduced to rags by some sort of acid, over to incineration. She wanted to have a little me-time of her own and had decided to borrow Buffy's room for the purpose.

Dawn walked up to the door and found it partway open. She glanced inside and saw Samantha Carter sitting at Buffy's desk looking like she had just cried. Dawn wrangled for a moment with whether she wanted to go and console the woman, but finally decided that she too was beginning to feel a lot like what that woman had to feel like, after all the dire news everyone was spouting about the Replicators, and Dawn wanted someone to talk to. In her heart she also kind of wanted to know the woman who had brought up her sister a bit better. Politely she knocked on the door and waited for several seconds, before slowly opening it. The woman inside seemed to have a remarkable ability to compose herself because she looked practically normal as Dawn entered, except for the tell-tale red puffiness around the eyes and a slight flush on her face. "Excuse me, Colonel," Dawn said.

"Please, call me Sam. I think you and I might want to get to know each other a little bit. Besides I can't seem to get anything else done right now," the Colonel looked sorry as she spoke.

"Everyone gets to have feelings even in the military right?" Dawn said.

The Colonel chuckled darkly, "Not officially... Sorry I'm just kidding."

Dawn walked around the room trying to avoid the face of the distraught and clearly depressed woman by looking at Buffy's trophies and medals. She looked at one of the bigger boxes that lay unopened next to the French medal.

Samantha must have seen what Dawn had been looking at. "It's the Medal of Freedom. Buffy got that last year. She was so proud." Dawn could see Buffy hadn't been the only one.

"Medal of Freedom. It sounds important," Dawn said, thinking that she had heard the name before.

"It is. But you know Buffy, she's never been one to ask for much recognition. Actually she keeps getting embarrassed when I show her off," Samantha said sounding like she was off in some happy memory.

"Yeah, she's never been good with praise. She's used to love performing in front of crowds, at least when she was a cheerleader, but she used to go all gooey and quiet when someone paid her an honest compliment. She seems to tend towards the non-verbal now," Dawn explained thinking back on her shared past with her sister, fake or not.

"I just can't imagine Buffy as a cheerleader. She just doesn't strike me as the school spirit kind of girl, especially in her stories," Samantha explain.

"She wasn't really. She was more a power person at first. Typically pretty Californian self-involved brat. I take after her in that. Funny I never figured out exactly when she turned all selfless and protective, but I guess it was the entire Slayer thing. Something happened with her first watcher and the other events in those early days that made my sister turn all serious. I think, in a way, she grew up quickly," Dawn reminisced.

Samantha looked at her with amazement in her eyes. "Buffy has never really spoken a lot about her early teenage years. She likes talking about her youngest years and her Slayer years more. I guess she's a bit embarrassed by some of her past, just like the rest of us. She was never a cheerleader here. Top of the honor roll would be more like it. I mean Hermione from Harry Potter – d o you have Harry Potter in your universe?" Dawn nodded. "Hermione is one of Buffy's favorite fictional characters."

"Yeah, we have Harry Potter. Hermione though, I don't get that. I thought that she'd be more of a Harry person... How come Buffy's so over-the-top smart now?" Dawn asked.

"Genetics and academic encouragement," Samantha Carter promptly answered.

"Your genes? I notice people keep mentioning how smart she is. You seem to considered somewhat of a brain as well," Dawn commented.

"Maybe my genes, maybe the genes of a race called the Ancients as well. When I cured Buffy from cancer the machine didn't just use my genes it also used a few fragments of an advanced human race. We're not sure whose contribution did the trick, but anyway Buffy claims she is several times smarter now than she was back in your universe. Wasn't she good in school back there?" Samantha asked.

Dawn thought it over. Buffy had been mostly average or below average academically; however, there had been moments when she had focused her abilities on school, and then she'd been well above average. Not a genius, but better than most. "When she focused her attention on it, sure she was above average, but she was never a genius," Dawn said.

Samantha studied her for a moment then nodded. "Then we know almost completely different girls. My Buffy has always been both a fighter and a thinker. But I guess you could love her either way, just as I do. At least I've gotten used to the more complicated way she feels about things after she got her memories back," the Colonel looked away for a moment.

"You know I am glad we're talking. I... This is hard. You know I never really wanted to like you, but now... I think you've been wonderful to Buffy. And I think she needs someone like you. We... Buffy was the one who cared for us – me and her friends. I think she needed us to keep living as the Slayer, to keep fighting. She had a few boyfriends who loved her back, but all the pressure of our lives, the constant fighting every night, and some of Buffy's own flaws kept everyone at bay the entire time," Dawn said.

"She still does that at times, push people away. It is not a conscious thing for her, more like a part of her personality from all of her struggles. She does it to see if you care enough to reach out to her, like she feels she does by protecting people. I've tried to not let her do that and encourage the others close to Buffy not to let her get away with it either. And really all the therapy Buffy gets is helping too. When she goes with you, you need to remember this. Well, that and her diet. Buffy needs to eat right, or her metabolism will consume her muscles and weaken her. Of course, we need to rescue her before she can leave... me. I'm sorry, I didn't want to tell you this. I am not trying to influence you, I realize you want Buffy to come with you, but I don't think I can keep pretending that I am okay with it. I am not. I don't want her to leave. Not just for me, I really believe she shouldn't live the life you're offering her."

Dawn shiver down her back. These words, the exchange between Willow and Xander earlier. "Listen," she started saying when the brunette doctor entered the room. Dawn swallowed her arguments and waited.

"Janet," Samantha asked, confused at the doctor's arrival.

"There you are. Everyone has been looking for you. Teal'c is on the subspace link with Jack. They think they've discovered something important. Jack wants you in the comms room immediately," Janet said. Dawn followed the Colonel as she left, deciding that not heading back to the Infirmary was a good idea.

--

Buffy had been locked in darkness for what felt like forever. Suddenly she became aware of distant shapes in the darkness. She had just discovered the underlying noise like billions of distant grasshoppers chattering as the shapes appeared. Finally she saw something seemingly real in the distance. Light enveloped her and Buffy stood in a desert camp dressed in a simple woolen off-white dress. She could see Daniel and Oma Desala in the distance. As she approached the chattering first got louder then completely disappeared. She thought things through and realized something: that couldn't be Oma, which meant it was most likely the copy of her mom, and the chattering noise the communications of the Replicators. She was in some sort of mental illusion created by their computer network. This meant that she was connected to them on a mental level, which was disturbing beyond the telling... "So Danny, does this bitch know that you're not stupid enough to be tricked by her illusions," Buffy said as she walked up past what she presumed was an image of Oma.

"No," Daniel replied and looked tiredly at the woman, who took a step back her eyes almost glinting with in temporary anger before she turned to appreciation when they looked at Buffy. The image transformed to look like a copy of her mom.

"Really? Then why then have I found what I was looking for? I can access your subconscious now Daniel. As we speak my knowledge is growing exponentially. There is so much. The first thing I was looking for was there too. The only thing that could theoretically stop us. A device hidden in a temple in a place called Dakara," RepliCarter said, and gestured towards the sand. A topological outline of what Buffy recognized as the holiest place of the Jaffa rose out of the ground.

"And so now we can move along and obliterate that final threat to our perfect dominion," the Replicator said. Buffy felt a pulse go through the chattering background noise. She guessed it had been a command. She stared towards Daniel. He looked back towards her. Buffy hoped he was like her beginning to understand the true nature of their prison.

--

Sam wondered about many things as she walked into the comms area. She wondered how she was keeping things together. She wondered why her dad seemed to be avoiding her. And she wondered why Jonas, Jack and her dad were gathered around a console displaying Teal'c's face and the holographic Tok'ra map of the Goa'uld forces. "Sir, I'm sorry I am late, I was taking a short break," she apologized as Jack saw her walking up.

"I understand, Carter. Well then we can get you up to speed... Jacob?" Jack turned towards her father.

"Over the last half day or so we've seen a distinct change in the deployment of Ba'al's forces. Matching pretty close to what our undercover agents believe was the time Ba'al was told of Teal'c's conquering of Dakara. He immediately redeployed his primary fleet to head for Dakara to take it back. He's coming Teal'c," Jacob said.

"We know. His troops have tried a few times to retake control of the Chappa'ai. He has been unsuccessful so far and his Jaffa will keep failing for now. However we cannot hold Dakara against his fleet. Even though bigger than Earth's fleet the, Free Jaffa fleet cannot stand up to the numbers available to Ba'al," Teal'c said.

"We knew this would happen when you left, and honestly Teal'c you've made your point, so why don't you just withdraw to your base on Abydos or some where else now," Jack suggested.

"We might want to hold off on that, Jack," Jacob said. Sam looked at her dad. "The Replicator conquered ships had pulled off, and we're not engaging the Goa'uld, as they weren't being attacked. However, a few minutes before I asked you all here, they all turned around and headed off on the same course as Ba'al's fleet. They and pretty much all the other ships we know off are converging on Dakara at their best speed, and I am wondering why? Teal'c is there any major technological installation on Dakara that we didn't know about until now?" Jacob asked.

"I do not believe there is, General Carter; however, coming here I have recognized that the temple of Dakara is of Ancient origin. Do you believe that could be the reason for the Replicator's converging here?" Teal'c asked.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment. "It could be. Teal'c, would you mind if Earth lent a hand with the occupation of Dakara?" Jack asked.

"Indeed I would not. You would be most welcome, O'Neil. We only have a few hours before Ba'al arrives so you should hurry," Teal'c replied.

"Colonel, I want SG-1 in there ASAP. Find out if and why there is something Ancient there, and see if it can save our asses yet again," Jack said.

"SG-1 will leave at once. If I may, sir, can I request that SG-3 accompany us for support? Dad, I'd like you and Selmak to come along as well," Sam said and turned to see Dawn, Buffy's sister standing in the background. Sam considered how useless the girl had to feel. Actually she was pretty sure all of Buffy's friends felt overwhelmed and useless like she had just a bit earlier. Sam considered bringing them along but figured Buffy would not be happy about her bringing them any closer to calamity than they already were.

"You can have SG-3 as well. Good luck out there, Carter," Jack said.

"Sir." Sam saluted the General, and headed out of the room, followed by her Dad. She just needed to call up Jonas and get the gear together.

"Wait please," Dawn called out and ran up next to her. "Please, if the Replicators are going to that place you're going, aren't they going to bring Buffy and Daniel really close to us."

"Probably but we won't have any means to get at her," Sam replied wondering what the girl was getting at.

"We do. If we can get that close, Willow could probably locate Buffy, and maybe even teleport the both of them to us," Dawn explained.

"Magic?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. If you can get us close enough, we should have the energy to pull Buffy to us," Dawn replied.

"I thought you'd need lifeforce of some kind? Dakara isn't what you would call populated," Sam daid.

"I am not sure, Willow is the real expert, but I think she can wrangle something. I have faith in her," Dawn said.

"Okay, I guess you want me to bring all of you then?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think one of the things we're going to do is to sacrifice of our own power. It's too bad Buffy beat Faith and Satsu so hard, Slayers have much more life energy than regular people, but Satsu is not feeling good and Faith has broken bones," Dawn explained.

Sam thought for a moment. There was a means to get the two Slayers on their feet in no time: she and her Dad could use the Goa'uld healing devices they kept for emergencies. "There is a way. You know what – it's worth a shot. Let's get to the infirmary. You go ahead, I have to talk to Jonas and then get hold of my dad. Tell Janet – Doctor Fraiser – that we're going to need two of the healing devices. She'll understand," Sam said and ran off.

--

Dawn stood next to Xander, Giles and Willow and watched in amazement as Sam and her Dad pointed glowing hand devices at the apprehensive looking Faith and Satsu. "This feels really funky," Faith said, "but not bad." She moved her leg and smiled. "Damn, yo this is fixed. Why the hell didn't you use these things earlier?" she asked. "Ding, ready for round three with the funky sci-fi dimension."

"Me too," Satsu replied sitting up.

"Okay, then go back to the grab the gear I've had put ready you. We're going through the gate as soon as you're ready," Sam said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Xander said and threw the laziest salute imaginable.

"Don't be tiresome, Alexander," Giles said.

"Is Blondie in charge then?" Faith asked as she rose from the bed experimentally from the bed.

"I am not sure I like you getting up so soon," Dr. Fraiser complained.

"Slayers don't sit on their asses while there is fun to be had. They're out there swinging them around to make all the boys happy," Faith replied.

"Another one," Fraiser sighed and wandered off.

"Too many soldiers as patients will do that to you apparently," Jacob said.

"Let's get going. We're in a hurry," Sam said.

"So what exactly is the plan," Xander asked as they left the room.

--

Willow watched as a blue white vortex of energy shot out from the ring of what looked like a grey alloy of some sort. She realized she had gasped as she took in that she was witnessing something she had read of only in sci-fi novels: a fully functional wormhole to a specified location. They were literally going to step across the galaxy their every sub-atomic particle torn apart then replicated at the exit point. She wondered how the soul managed to come along, but it was more or less moot. According to Dawn every one around the base went in and out of the wormhole on a regular basis, and they all still had their souls.

"You coming, Miss Rosenberg," the smiling Jonas Quinn told her. Willow felt a blush coming on as she noticed everyone was heading for the gate, and she quickly nodded in reply to the question. Intellectually, she was a bit disturbed by what she was about to do even with all the multitude of other worldly things she had seen and done. Buffy's foster mom and the older guy next to her in the weird white uniform went first, then Dawn and Faith a bit more carefully, then Giles, Satsu, and finally Xander disappeared into the water-like portal. Willow nearly gashed as she entered the surface and left a slight suction. Suddenly she was surrounded by a tunnel of bluish light, with the stars seemingly flying by just outside it. The ride was topsy-turvy until she emerged out of a portal amidst rocks and big burly armed Jaffa, as Bra'tac had earlier informed her his people were called.

"Welcome to Dakara," said a huge black man, who had several bandages to places on his arms not covered by his armor.

"Hi, Teal'c," Buffy's foster mom, Samantha, said.

"Hello, Colonel Carter. The ruins are this way," the man, said and headed towards the central complex that lay up several steps in a huge building nestled against the mountain.

"What is this place?" Satsu asked. She looked around at the really time-worn stone buildings.

"This is a very holy structure to the Jaffa culture. Now that we have examined it, we believe that the structure is millions of years old, having been made by the same race that made the Stargate network," Jonas explained still walking next her. Willow only listened with half an ear, she was starting to think on the idea Dawn had come up with. It meant they would have to stay on the planet while two, maybe three, space fleets above, and whatever they landed on the planet, attacked this place. She'd need to move Buffy and another guy named Daniel across an orbital distance to her, amidst what would most likely be total chaos. That meant she'd need a safe position and several people to draw power from.

"I recognized this panel of text as being of Ancient origin. If anything on this world might attract the Replicators I believe it would be in this temple," the huge black man said.

"Right, translations first. Jonas, Dad, I think you're up. SG-3 please help secure the area around the gate, for now, it is our fallback point. If we find anything I will radio in," Carter ordered.

"We need as secure a place as we can get for the spell to pull Buffy here," Willow said.

"That's gonna be hard to wrangle," Carter replied. "For now just stay close."

"This is fascinating," said Giles. "It seems to be an advanced combination of something akin to Linear A and B, but I think the words spelled out are like Latin in their pronunciation." He stepped towards the wall staring at the complex writing on the wall.

"We believe that the Linear language fragments were attempts by humans to replicate the written language of the Ancients. We're still unsure about the association between Latin and the Ancient language, especially with their very different vocal and alphabet structure," Jonas Quinn started to explain.

"Jonas," Samantha took a firm hold of the smiling energetic guy and said, "Translations first, then maybe save the galaxy, then if we have spare time you can hold a lecture."

Willow heard the chuckle that she managed to suppress come from Faith, Dawn and Satsu. "Right, for now let's just hang back," Xander suggested, and they stepped away from the scientists as they started to work on the wall.

--

Buffy tried again to understand the information RepliCarter was tearing from Daniel's mind as well as the way the copy communicated with the weaker minded lesser Replicators. Neither was going very well. Her mind was too mortal to understand most of the virtually unlimited and super-complex stuff flowing from Daniel, and she didn't really have the parallel thinking that was needed to manipulate the Replicators. However, this was a situation that could not in any conceivable way be solved physically, so she had to keep trying.

There was a lull in the constant information that flowed through her head like sound. The steely eyed copy turned to face Buffy and smiled in a way that sent shudder down through her virtual body. "I found what I hoped to find. Now I can finally start to improve you Buffy. You'll be perfect. A part of us," RepliCarter said.

Buffy felt a piercing pain going through her, radiating from her gut outwards. Another pain pierced her neck ,then disappeared. The voices distant just a moment earlier became a cacophony. Buffy screamed with desperation and a hollow hopelessness seemed to consume her as she realized that she was losing in a battle she had no way to fight against an enemy she could not defeat. "Mommy," she screamed and threw herself down.

"I am right here," the hated unemotional bitch hurting her replied. Buffy felt sickened by the very sound.

"No mother would do this to their child," Buffy managed to say, slowly fighting through the mass of information from all over the galaxy, the millions of atrocities against humans and Jaffa that continuously bombarded her. Buffy wanted unconsciousness to claim her. She should have been overwhelmed, but her virtual body didn't obey her anymore.


	6. Chapter 6 & Epilogue

**Chapter 6:**

"That looks like a lot of work for the off-chance that some sort of alien tech thingy, that might be a dud anyway, is behind the stone curtain," Satsu said. She studied the small group at the back end of the temple again as the sun slowly dropped towards the horizon.

"Let the egg heads deal with the fancy stuff. You and me girl, we're just here for the slicing and dicing," Faith commented, and continued to stare towards the Stargate.

Dawn got up and wandered down towards the temple. Giles was hanging back observing as Sam, Jonas and Sam's father worked on translating the inscription on the wall. "It's a puzzle lock," Jonas said, just as Dawn got within earshot. The muscular man walked up the wall and quickly started turning circular sections of the wall into a different position. "See, now it makes sense. Here it says 'Sun' instead of 'Chicken'. And... " The man stepped back and looked at the second circle. Slowly he turned it into place as well. Finally, he did the same with the final third of the interlocking discs embedded in the stone. The wall hummed and pulled apart to reveal a silvery door that opened when Sam's dad, Jacob, touched it.

"Great work, let's check this out," Sam said, and the trio went in.

Dawn looked over at Giles.

"Their people are very good," he commented. "They seem to work well under pressure. So, is Willow ready?"

"Yeah, when that big guy, Teal'c, gives the word that the Replicators are here, she'll try to scry for Buffy. Faith, Satsu and... well, me, are going to supply energy so that Willow can teleport Buffy and Daniel back here. I guess the plan is to go straight for the Stargate after that, right?" Dawn said.

"We'll see," Giles replied. Dawn noted how tired and old he looked at that moment. She thought back and realized that Giles had been tired and quiet for most of their trip. It was more than just trying to remain distant.

"Yeah," she replied. She left Giles, and walked into the temple. The trio inside were talking excitedly with each other as she approached.

"Knock knock," she said. "What's the fuss about?"

"This thing is a weapon, or it can be used as one. I think it is capable of using the entire Stargate network to send out a pulse that could destroy the Replicators on or near any planet in the entire galaxy that has a gate," Jacob explained.

"It's a chance, but we still have to find a way to set it to the correct values, open all the gates at once and fire it," Sam said sounding negative. However, Dawn could see the woman thinking hard for solutions to those problems rather than giving in.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Dawn asked.

"Not really," Jonas said after looking at his comrades.

--

"Teal'c, we cannot hold this place against Ba'al's fleet and now you say that the metal monsters that have already consumed many worlds are following right behind his forces?" Tolok asked, as Sam walked up to give the Jaffa some good news.

"Colonel Carter?" Bra'tac said. She stopped next to the assembled Rebel Jaffa leaders.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but we've found out that the Ancient device in the temple is a huge discovery. I think it was the method the Ancients used to repopulate the Galaxy after the great plague, and it could still do that today. However, it can also be used to destroy all life on any target world, because the energy wave the device produces will travel through the Stargate. It could be the way for us to win: we could defeat the Replicators by creating a modified disruptor wave on a new frequency. I developed one together with the Asgard before, but it will only work once for every frequency. Therefore, we'd need to cover the entire galaxy at once, which means we'd have to find a way to dial up every Stargate simultaneously. The trouble is, we'd need to figure out how to use the machine, set it up, find a way to dial the gates and fire it, all in time before our enemies arrive," Sam explained.

"The only person known to have the ability to dial more than one gate is Ba'al," said Teal'c. "I do not believe he will share this knowledge with us."

"Is there any way we could talk to him before he attacks? Maybe then we could convince him that we're holding the only weapon that will work against the Replicators, and only we know how to work it. If he helps us, we'll use it and then blow it up. If he doesn't, we'll blow it up immediately to keep him from getting it," Sam suggested.

The Jaffa looked at each other. Sam knew that they had already been considering pulling up stakes and heading for the hill, figuratively speaking, but this was their chance – maybe their only chance – to win ,and it was clear that the Jaffa knew it too.

"Good then, we must plan our battle," said Teal'c. "We will give you the time you need, Colonel Carter, and try to convince Ba'al to cooperate with us. If he does not prove open to cooperation, do we have an explosive device capable of destroying the device?"

"I'll ask Jack to see if he can get a naquadah-enhanced tactical nuke cleared for us," Sam replied. She had planned to contact Jack now anyway; adding a nuke to her shopping list wasn't that much of a stretch, given the situation. On her way to the gate, she passed Buffy's friends guarded by their slayers, both of whom looked very bored.

--

"My Lord, your fleet is entering the Dakara system now," said Ba'al's first prime.

"I want to come out of hyperspace near the temple planet as possible," Ba'al ordered.

"Yes my lord," the First Prime said, and adjusted the timing of the entire fleet. Ba'al wanted to smile as his Jaffa efficiently did his bidding, but he couldn't: he was not in the mood. There were billions of reasons not be in a good mood and they were barely a few hours behind his fleet at this point.

"We will be entering far orbit at any moment," his First Prime said.

"When you see the rebel fleet, blast it from my sky," Ba'al commanded.

His fleet tore itself free from hyperspace.

--

Sam stared intently at the laptop readout next to her, and nodded to Jonas and her Dad. Jonas pushed one of the Ancient control blocks down a bit. The readout was showing the disruptor wave pattern she had calculated as the next in line from her experiments with Thor and how close the Ancient device was to producing a matching signal.

"Colonel." Sergeant Castleman, one of SG-3's team members, rushed inside.

"Yeah, let me guess: Ba'al's fleet has arrived," she said, too distracted by the complex device and the math she was trying to improvise to become tense.

"Yes, Colonel. Teal'c is preparing to talk to him now. Colonel Reynolds is going to signal by radio if we need to arm the device," the Sergeant explained.

Sam turned and walked over to the large box standing to the left of the room. Inside the box, a small naquadah-enhanced tactical nuke lay ready for her to enter her activation code – the only thing needed to set its timer and activate the detonation switch she had rigged ,just in case anyone got too close too early. Sam felt her body tense up, and saw Mr. Giles getting ready. Buffy's mentor had so far kept a silent watch over them, while Willow and the others had stayed in another part of the temple.

--

"My Lord, the Rebel fleet has left orbit – only one ship remains. It is known to me as one of the Ha'tak favored by the Shol'va and his decrepit master," his First Prime said. Ba'al leaned forward wondering why the Rebels had left even this much.

"Any word from the warriors you sent there through the Chappa'ai?" Ba'al asked.

"No, my Lord, they most likely perished," his First Prime replied. There were some chimes from the main controls. "The Traitor Teal'c is sending a hail my Lord. I believe he wants to parley," his First Prime continued.

Ba'al knew better than just summarily dismiss the notion of talking. It had served him best to talk in the past. "Let me see the Shol'va," he commanded.

The face of the slayer of so many of his kin appeared on the screen. "Teal'c, are you going to defy your god again, or are you going to surrender to fate?" Ba'al asked.

"Neither. The Free Jaffa and the Tau'ri have taken control of Dakara and the Ancient device that you seek here. Should you attack, or approach further, we will detonate one of the Tau'ri nuclear devices inside the machine," the traitor to his masters said in a voice that convinced Ba'al that the Jaffa was telling the truth.

"What do you propose?" Ba'al asked, knowing that they wouldn't have risked staying and talking unless they needed something from him.

"We have the means to destroy the Replicators in our hands, but you have something that we require in order to do so. You possess the means to activate all Chappa'ai in the galaxy at once. We need that capability so that we may use the weapon here to reach all of our enemy," Teal'c said.

Ba'al almost wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. For all his knowledge of the Dakara device inherited from Anubis, and his possession of the means to send the wave it would generate through the Chappa'ai, he had no idea how long it would have taken him to create a wave that would destroy the Replicators. Having his enemies do it would serve his purpose just as well, and whether the device ended up destroyed or in his hands afterwards he didn't care; either way, his final victory was still secure.

"We do not have time to haggle like fishwives, Teal'c. If I am to do as you ask, I must be on the ground near the Chappa'ai. Will you allow my personal vehicle to land?" Ba'al asked.

"Do not be simple Ba'al. If you or your Jaffa set foot on Dakara before this is done, we will destroy the device. You possess the same projection technology as Anubis; you may use that," the Jaffa said, taking special care to sound as he was permitting him to do something that he couldn't do freely anyway. Ba'al inwardly seethed, but he knew from experience that vengeance had to wait until he was finished with the immediate problems.

"I will be there in just a few moments," Ba'al said and got up.

"First Prime, attend. Surround this world with my fleet, but stay in high orbit. Our enemy may show up soon. Destroy any unknown ships that arrive. Send out all gliders and make sure they're ready. Dakara must not fall into the hands of the Replicators! If so much as a single ship of theirs lands down there, I will hold you personally responsible. Oh, and keep an eye out for the rebels, we will have to deal with them afterwards," Ba'al commanded. Hegot up to head for his private chambers.

--

Sam looked up and saw Ba'al fade into view outside the entrance to the device control room. "Ah, Colonel, I expected you or O'Neill. Is the monster you call a daughter near as well?" Ba'al looked around.

"No, I'm sorry, she'll have to miss your visit. Listen, we don't have time for banter: there are a trillion bad things on the way and I'd rather not get eaten alive," Sam said, irritated as always by the arrogantly smirking Goa'uld.

"Ah, so this is the device. I have never seen it before, but I know enough to understand the theory. A wave of energy that can restructure all things on the surface of a planet, killing or creating life at a whim. You have to respect the Ancients: they truly knew how to show people who were the gods." Ba'al paced the room watching her dad wearily.

"Greetings Tok'ra. Too bad this is not the day you die," Ba'al said.

"I still have hope, Goa'uld, that I will live to see the last of your days," Selmak replied. It sounded like the Tok'ra voice of her dad was old and tired.

"Hah! Now I have the means to open all the gates at once prepared, so what are we waiting for?" Ba'al asked.

"We're not ready yet," said Sam. "The device needs to produce a very exact waveform pattern, and we haven't gotten it within the acceptable margin of error; we're still a little way off." She nodded towards the numerical readout on her laptop that said: 3.25. It needed to say: 0.76 before they could fire anything that would work.

"I see. A challenge then," Ba'al said. He looked positively happy to have something to do with his time. Sam wanted the Goa'uld to shut off his hologram and disappear so she could focus, but she just knew he wouldn't.

--

Dawn watched Giles walk up to her.. "They are getting close to being ready with their weapon. How about you?" he asked Willow.

Willow looked up. "I don't want to cast my spell prematurely, but we've got everything we need handy. What I am going to need is power. This world has next to nothing. It is old – very old – but it hasn't got much in the way of life force, so you'll all have to be donors. I won't need too much, but everyone other than Faith and Satsu will be weak as kittens for a little while afterwards," Willow explained.

"Then all we need is for the Borg bugs to appear with Buffy," Xander commented and looked up then over towards the Stargate in the distance.

"What about when we have her?" Xander asked.

"We make a run for the Stargate, right?" Satsu asked and looked around at everyone.

"B is going to want to stay and fight until it is done," Faith said.

Dawn looked at Faith and nodded in agreement.

"We can ask her when we have her here. We should at least offer her to possibility of taking the Gate straight outta here if this gets fucked up," Xander said.

"Sure, but she won't take it," Dawn said, having formed her own thoughts on what was going on with her sister in this universe.

--

Buffy tried to focus through the pain and recalled back in the old times, back in Sunnydale when Angel had been with her and when her other mom had still been alive. She remembered her lessons with Angel in Tai Chi. She remembered the later lessons with Giles on focusing. Her mind was jumbled with thousands of flows of information, but it was all ordered despite there being massive amounts. Slowly, she managed to navigate around them, ignoring the unimportant ones like noise in the background.

The Replicator with her mother's face stood in the virtual space with Daniel, slowly tapping his mind for the subconscious near-infinite knowledge of the Ancients and the Ascended. Buffy managed to rise, and realized she could clearly see it now. The flow of knowledge out of Daniel was like a waterfall that the Replicators were trying to guzzle down. It took much out of RepliCarter and it took even more out of the other Replicators on the network. Their dehumanizing experiments on her hadn't allowed them to control her yet, but it had allowed her the chance to sneak onto their network. Well, sneak was the wrong word: she was expected – even welcome there in a way. Quickly, she found that the Replicators reacted to thought commands almost intuitively. It took her mere moments to learn her position in space and time. She saw the wave of Replicators flowing onto Earth, using the Asgard method of prying open their iris by hacking the computer system remotely. Her mom's copy was a nasty bitch, who even intended to saw off that branch of hope for Buffy – destroy her home so that she would have no place to go.

Buffy also noticed one other thing: it was as if there was another presence on the network – one that wasn't welcome, or a part of it like she had been made to be. It felt strong yet subtle. Daniel, Buffy realized. He was remembering what RepliCarter was stealing, but to him this was enlightenment – the stuff of the ascended, which could mean he was getting closer to that state again. Buffy remembered her own lessons from the Universe still sealed in her mind under a promise only to use under the threat of immediate death. Even now, she couldn't find that place of light in her mind to move across to that other state, even if she would have preferred it to being invaded by the Replicator technology.

Almost as one the Replicator ships signaled through the subspace network that they had entered the Dakara system. Hundreds of Goa'uld ships and thousands of fighters met them there, and had no chance.

"Are you enjoying the view?" the monster with her mom's voice asked.

"What do you think?" Buffy asked, as she found herself pulled back to the virtual space with Daniel.

"You'll come around to our way of thinking soon enough," RepliCarter said, with false sweetness in her voice.

"What do you want from me?" Buffy pleaded.

"A daughter with a soul," RepliCarter answered.

"Why? You don't have any." Buffy replied.

"Exactly. You will show us the way," RepliCarter said.

"You cannot build a soul," said Daniel. "I know I shouldn't, but I think I pity you a little. Is that your hope? Hopeless soulless puppets that want a soul of their own, and think they can make it out of the things they find in the ground?"

"We will find a way through you. You know how," RepliCarter said and grabbed Daniel hard.

Outside, the Replicator ships made quick work of their opponents, already having destroyed more than half the Goa'uld fleet in moments, using weapons replicated with a mix of Asgard and Ancient technology .

--

"We got it," Sam yelled as the sky outside filled with the distant blinks of exploding starships. The readout on the laptop said 0.74.

"Just in time, my fleet is getting eaten by the moment," Ba'al said. His image wavered for a moment. "I cannot keep up this projection any longer," he said and started to fade.

"Open the gates," Sam yelled, then turned and rattled off, "Jonas tell Buffy's friends." Jonas sprinted from the room.

--

Dawn saw Jonas Quinn running towards them. As he got close, he yelled. "We're firing the weapon as soon as the gate is dialed. Do your thing."

Dawn turned towards Willow and opened her mouth, but the red haired witch was already speaking the mystical chant to locate Buffy and her friend Daniel. Dawn felt a slight drain on her body as Willow took a little of her life force to cast her spell. It flew towards the red haired woman as a small white wisp.

A shadow fell over the courtyard and a strange scorpion-like starship flew down to hover, then promptly fell apart to form the smaller spider like robots that had kidnapped Buffy earlier. They immediately scurried towards the control room of the weapon. "Hurry," Dawn said as Xander blew apart one of the spider bots that got close.

--

"You're attacking my friends and family. You're attacking Earth," Buffy said. She wanted to attack the bitch, but it was still pointless. She had another idea, but she wasn't sure if it would work.

"You cannot stop evolution, but they would try. And your friends from your old universe have to die: they would take you away, even if you do not want to go with them. You are to stay here with me," RepliCarter said while still holding on to Daniel.

Suddenly Daniel grabbed RepliCarter's hand. "I can stop you," he said.

Buffy felt the entire network receive a shutdown command. All Replicators were commanded to stop moving immediately. Then she saw how Daniel had to handle all the Replicators constant demands for permission to move again. If he missed saying no to just a few, more and more would escape. Buffy, however, knew something else. That trick of his had taught her something: she could do the same.

"You can feel them can't you. There are so many. Too many. Too many for any human to handle," RepliCarter gloated.

"Well, bitch thanks to you that is less of a problem," Buffy said, and focused on helping Daniel.

"Buffy, you... betray me." RepliCarter actually managed to sound surprised.

Buffy laughed mockingly. "Well you wanted to have the real me around. Should have brainwashed me first," Buffy said and grunted to keep up with it all – especially with intercepting all the commands of her would-be robo-mommy.

--

"They stopped," Faith said wondrously, as all the spider robots became stationary targets. Still, no-one stopped destroying them. Dawn saw that no one else was waiting to see what was the cause of that fluke either.

"I've got Buffy and Daniel," Willow said, and immediately started on the teleportation spell.

--

Ba'al stumbled down the burning corridors of his flagship, cursing his earlier fascination with the Tau'ri's project of programming the Ancient device. He needed to get to his store room and activate the gate-dialing device before the Replicators blew his ship apart. There seemed to be a lull in the constant bombardment, which served to help his cause.

Ba'al ignored his host body's pain as he entered the sealed room where he hid many of his technological conquests. He headed straight for the gate dialer and grabbed it, then turned back to the bridge while activating his force field. He walked inside, letting the vacuum of space carry away the oxygen of the corridor as he ran forward and activated the rings. He beamed down to the surface.

Ba'al found himself in the middle of hundreds of frozen Replicators heading in a stream for the Gate. Ignoring them, and the distant sound of Tau'ri weapons, he attached the dialer to the control device. Taking a breath, and cursing that he had to help his mortal enemies, he punched the activation button. The Gate connected immediately.

--

Willow clapped her hands together and out of nowhere Daniel Jackson and Buffy appeared before them. Willow, Giles, Xander and Dawn all fainted from the strain. Faith and Satsu groaned and sat down.

"Shit, Buffy," Faith said.

--

"Sam, the Gate just opened," her dad yelled.

"Did Ba'al manage to do it from orbit somehow?" Sam asked.

"He must have, the gate wasn't dialed," her Dad said, staring at the gate controls that had been routed to the control room by Ancients when it had been built.

"Jonas hit it," Sam said. There was a massive beep-beep noise and skittering as the frozen Replicators charged forward as one.

--

RepliCarter rose from the deck of her ship. They had stolen Buffy from her somehow, and were firing their weapon, but there were still ways to win the day. Daniel's knowledge had given her ideas. She immediately set about saving herself.

--

"Oh God," Buffy said, and vomited up a thick mass of silvery slime. She felt weird, and looked around in confusion. She saw that she was sprawled amidst a mass of her old friends, along with Daniel, while Faith and that other slayer both looking fine, and were fighting Replicators. For a moment she wondered if she was in the real world again, or if it was another trick, but the question was resolved a moment later when the Replicators were suddenly destroyed by a massive barely-visible wave coming down from the mountain. One moment they had been nearly overrun, the next they were surrounded by gray dust.

The wave prickled Buffy's skin as it passed over her and she felt something painfully disappear from her neck, but it also made her body feel lighter. She got up but immediately staggered. Something was wrong. She looked down and saw something made of Replicator technology had been built into her stomach at some point during her incarceration, and had fallen apart with the rest, leaving her with a gaping wound. Buffy fell back onto her back and realized that shock had prevented her from feeling any pain. It was now starting to show though.

"Buffy?" Willow asked in a weak voice.

There was a strange noise like an Asgard beam. Buffy blinked and saw her mom running towards her. "Buffy, no, shh, I'll fix this," her mom said, and cradled her.

"Mom," Buffy pleaded weakly. Then realized as she looked down and saw her mom transfer some silvery liquid from her own body onto Buffy, that she had been wrong. Billions of tiny Replicator cells covered her wounds and closed the hole in her stomach, but all Buffy wanted was to fight back.

"No," Buffy said, and struggled to get up and away.

"Hey, what are you doing Colonel?" Xander asked, getting up along with Dawn.

"Healing my daughter, Xander Harris. Now shut up," RepliCarter said.

"How?" Buffy asked.

"I replicated a copy of an Asgard transporter and beamed through the wavefront unharmed. Oh, but don't worry their little trick got everyone else. I have to start again," RepliCarter said and pulled Buffy up to stand. Something fell off the copy of her mom, and like a rapid amoeba, slithered out into the silvery residue left by the Replicators, gathering mass as it went.

Buffy, meanwhile, felt like her skin was crawling. She had the nanite replicator blocks of her mom's copy inside her, and they were doing something. She also had something else: a chance at a rematch with this bitch who had harmed her.

"Hey, did you get them?" her mom came running up and skidded to a stop. "You?" she said, and immediately pulled up her rifle.

"Pointless," RepliCarter said. "Stay here and heal honey. Listen everyone: you won this round. I'll just smash that little machine of yours, and then I will leave quietly with Buffy."

Buffy smiled as her mom fired at the copy anyway. The bullets didn't do any damage, and merely got absorbed. Still, the burst of gun fire had been close enough to make Buffy flinch.

"That's the copy. The one that kidnapped B right," Faith asked, catching on. Buffy didn't manage to see who confirmed Faith's notion, but next thing, Faith attacked the Replicator. There was a noise like flesh slapping against a metal pole, and RepliCarter flew back a few yards, releasing Buffy in the process.

"Ah, Faith, the traitorous pathetic wretch. Come to see if you can measure up to the real legend once again? Oh, right: I must expect some sarcastic reply now." RepliCarter sprang back onto her feet. The Chinese girl joined the fight, but they were outmatched in both strength and resilience.

Buffy debated for a moment if she should join the futile fight, when she glimpsed two things: her mom, who was sprinting back towards wherever she had come from, and Daniel, who lay still, apparently unconscious, nearby. She had an idea.

--

"Quick, the Replicator copy of me survived the wave. We have to fire again," Sam said. She desperately hoped her copy hadn't had the time to analyze the frequency of the last attack, because Sam didn't have time to calculate another.

"Sam it won't work," her dad said.

"Dad?" Sam asked.

"It needs time to recharge. It won't work again for a minute or two," her dad explained.

"Fuck, she still has Buffy," Sam explained.

"Samantha, what is that?" Jonas asked and pointed out the door.

Sam turned and stared. Down in the big courtyard where the Replicators had landed something was forming, and it didn't look like anything typically Replicator. It looked more along the lines of tiny replicators building something using the remains of the blasted Replicators as raw materials. It rapidly took shape: a swept bluish smoothly shape, aerodynamic to an amazing degree, and almost one and a half times the size of an Al'kesh. "A ship," Sam gasped.

"I'll try and stall for time. The second it's ready, fire the weapon again," Sam said, and ran out again before her dad could say anything.

--

"Damn it Buffy snap out of it," Willow yelled, when the copy of her mom smacked Faith out into the smaller courtyard. Willow was still pale and looked weak, unable to cast any spells that could end this quickly.

Buffy knew that she had to wait a little longer though. Finally she felt it. The faint distant voice of something like her mother, but within a colder place. The Replicators in her body had hooked her back into the subspace network they used to communicate. She tried not to think about what that meant. Instead she ran forward and grabbed RepliCarter.

"Stop now," Buffy begged. For a moment the copy of her mom stood there confused what she was doing, then her real mom came running back.

Buffy felt the detached portion of RepliCarter that was down in the courtyard report that their ship was done. "I'll go with you if you stop fighting them now. That goes for all of you. I'll go with her. That's what I have to do, because of who I am, and always have been. It is better this way," Buffy said. She hoped her mom and her friends knew her well enough to know what she meant.

"Buffy, no, we'll find a way," her mom protested.

"I have," Buffy said. "Shall we?" She offered her hand to RepliCarter.

"We shall. See, I knew this was how it would end. This is how it always ends. Let's go, honey," RepliCarter said. Meanwhile, Buffy was distant as she walked past her stunned friends. Satsu and Faith had stopped their attack, unable to physically hurt the copy of her mom.

"No, stop this, we can't find you again just to have you slip away. Stay Buffy – don't let her control you," Xander begged.

"I'm sorry Xander, but if I don't, she'll get tired of this and kill you all." RepliCarter smirked and nodded. Xander looked defeated for a moment, but his eyes revealed he hadn't given up. Buffy didn't need to look around to see that everyone else felt the same. She hoped they would, but this was something only she could fix.

Buffy was amazed by the sheer amount of data that was still a part of her and RepliCarter. It was shared between the both of them freely and completely. Buffy wasn't a computer expert, but she knew the basics and she was good at basics; she was a natural at certain basics.

They stepped in front of the ship. It was not made up off Replicators like the old one, but built by them, so that it would remain unharmed by another shot from the weapon. Everything on it was made up off Asgard and Ancient technology, known to RepliCarter, and designed using her mom's stolen experience. It was designed to be their new temporary base, controlled through a connection to their tiny network. "What about the weapon?" Buffy asked as they headed down.

"We will give your friends and former mother a chance to escape, then we will destablize this planet's sun and burn the entire system," RepliCarter replied.

"Buffy stop! Please!" Dawn and her mom yelled together. There were other calls to them. Buffy tried her hardest not to seem bothered by them; she was almost ready. The mass of tiny replicators that had built the ship emerged from its hull. Buffy sensed through the network that they were all present. They had grown to almost enough mass to create several more copies of RepliCarter. She watched intently as RepliCarter commanded them to delete their remnant copy of her, and start forming into regular Replicator bricks on the underside of the hull for later use.

Buffy didn't dare triumphantly saying anything, or even gloat for a moment. She just immediately used the same command to order RepliCarter to delete her program from her own body. Then Buffy commanded the Replicator bricks to delete their base programming. Following her slayer instincts, she deleted every piece of knowledge that she could from all that she was networked to.

Although focused on her task, Buffy still took in the precious look on everyone's faces when RepliCarter suddenly splashed to the ground into a silvery puddle. However, Buffy wasn't in the clear yet: there was still one thing to do - one last remnant of a Replicator... her.

Everyone ran up. "What happened?" Xander asked.

"I killed the deranged bitch," Buffy replied, and spat at the silvery puddle. She felt a hate in her heart for the Replicators unlike any previous foe. They had violated her and she would never forgive that thing for it.

"How?" Xander asked. He seemed reluctant to approach the puddle.

"She was just software. Daniel reminded me indirectly when we were caught by them. The Replicators are just puppets without a soul. The copy was just that: a copy without the soul of the original – a file in a directory. I waited until I was Replicator enough again to be able to delete it, along with as much of everything else that I could. She's as dead as can be. There are no back-ups around either. The only thing remotely Replicator left now is inside of me," Buffy said.

"How do we get rid of it? I mean we don't want Borg Buffy right?" Xander asked.

"Hell no," Faith agreed.

Her mom didn't say anything but only hugged Buffy. "We'll have Janet look you over. We'll find a way to cure you," her mom said.

Her mom's radio crackled with Jacob's voice, "Sam I am firing again."

Buffy watched the mountain open again, almost as if in slow motion and wondered how much of her was Replicator now. She hoped it was too little to be vital. "Dad, no," Buffy heard her mom scream.

The shockwave hit like a hammer blow this time and Buffy couldn't help but scream in pain. Darkness reclaimed her.

--

"She's coming to." Buffy heard a male voice that she couldn't immediately place. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in the new infirmary back on Earth. It looked a bit worse for wear than when she last saw it.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"You were knocked out by the Ancient device," Teal'c's soothing voice said.

"Teal'c, I am glad to hear your voice," Buffy said, and looked down hoping to find herself more or less intact. She was wrapped in bandages all over her chest and arms.

Janet approached. Buffy could see from the expression of her adopted aunt, so to speak, that there was both good and bad news, but probably nothing grave. "Well, details. Did I take any permanent damage?" Buffy asked and looked around at the assembled group near her bed. Her mom was there looking exhausted, but relieved. Dawn was mirroring her mom to a degree. Teal'c was sitting on a chair between her and Daniel's beds. It looked like Daniel was sleeping.

"Yes and no. The Replicators had invaded you pretty good, and when the nanites were destroyed by the wave, they left no Replicator parts behind. You lost a lot of blood and had some neural damage in several critical places; however, you seem to have regenerated the damaged nerves. Unfortunately, they had also covered and replaced a lot of your skin, and you have pretty severe damage to your chest, arms, neck and hands. I can't guarantee you won't need grafts later to bring down the scarring," Janet explained apologetically.

"What about my face?" Buffy asked, immediately reaching for it and realizing that the slightest touch or movement of her tender arms and fingers was a mistake as sharp pain shot through her.

"Your face wasn't touched," Janet said.

"There is something else though," Sam said and approached the bed.

"This is the bad news then?" Buffy asked.

Her mom knelt down and started explaining, "Yes. When Janet gave you an MRI, we found something. Apparently that thing – my copy – had some plans for you. There are still some nanites in your blood. They seem to be passive, or serve as a sort of defensive mechanism. We've extracted a few, and I compared them with the samples I could simulate from residue of the copy that remained after the second wave hit, and they aren't even remotely the same as the Replicator nanites, which is why they survived. The nanites now in your blood are something else. I can't tell you what, but I am sure they're some sort of Ancient design from how they're made. Do you have any idea?"

Buffy took a moment to see if she could feel any sort of connection or presence. "No, none what so ever," she replied. She wanted to cry for a moment: she didn't want some random ancient technology floating around inside her. It was like being a walking time bomb that you didn't know the yield off.

"They're not doing anything at the moment," said Janet . "So for now, we're just adding them to your file and continuing the studies into how they work."

"I don't like having something like that floating around inside of me. They could be contagious, or dangerous ,or some sort of Replicator back up plan," Buffy said.

"We know, but as far as we can determine they're completely dormant at the moment. Besides, I have a theory on what they are there for, but we'll have to wait until later to test it," Sam said.

"How long will she need to stay in bed?" Dawn asked. Buffy smiled warmly at her sister.

"At least a week. I want to stay on top of any infections. It's only Buffy's slayer-enhanced immune system that is keeping her alive. Let's not strain it by exposing it to anything else," Janet said.

Buffy grimaced.

"There is something else as well. Do you remember the ship that the copy built?" Sam asked.

"Yeah vaguely," Buffy said, but mentally its image was almost blurred in her mind. She had been busy with so many other things at the time that the ship hadn't figured large in her interest.

"By the way how long was I out?" Buffy interjected.

"Oh, nearly two days now," Janet said.

"Buffy, the ship. Do you know anything about it?" Sam asked.

"Not really. The bitch intended to use it as some sort of new base, why?" Buffy asked.

"Because it followed us home," Sam said.

"Come again," Buffy asked.

"It appeared in orbit six hours after we left Dakara with you. It simply came out of hyperspace and went into orbit around the moon. We nearly attacked it thinking it might be some sort of Replicator infection vector, but it has been completely dormant since it came.

"Alright that's weird," Buffy said. She moved slightly, only to wince from the intense pain the change in position gave her.

"You know I have some pain killers ready if you want them?" Janet offered.

"Just a few wouldn't go amiss," Buffy said a little voice. As everyone pulled back and left her alone, Buffy lay there thinking, barely acknowledging Janet as she returned to give her the pills and some water. Buffy dutifully took her medicine, and lay back trying to get some rest.

Immediately her thoughts turned to what the fallout of the Replicator's invasion would be. The Goa'uld had taken a really hard hit this time and she wondered how Ba'al's fleet had fared against the Replicators in orbit. She wondered what the effect on the Free Jaffa would be. Had they taken the opportunity to attack Ba'al in his weakened state? Finally, she admitted to herself that what she really had to think about was the big decision that she couldn't put off or excuse much longer: soon she would be healed and then it would be time to decide on the future direction her life would take. Then there was the matter with her Grandfather too. He was dying. Old age and entropy. She knew enough to accept death, but she was still human, if a little less than most, and she railed against the very idea of dying. She could never allow herself to completely accept it either. If she did then she'd lose her reason for fighting. Life had to be lived, but her Grandfather's was ending naturally and it was both the human and Tok'ra way to let it happen.

"I am doing it again," Buffy mumbled to herself as she realized she had moved to another subject again, instead of thinking of the bigger decision in her near future. She had tried to avoid it for so long. She had given half answers, but she not really allowed herself the luxury of her own thinking, her own decisions. And she realized it had to be her decision. That was important. It had to be something she was happy with, because she wasn't entirely sure she would get the chance to decide again. Buffy didn't want to hurt anyone. That was her main problem, but someone would get hurt no matter what she decided.

--

Buffy woke from a light slumber to find Xander, Giles, Willow and Faith sitting around her bed. Giles had just coughed politely.

"Was I snoring?" Buffy asked ,too zonked out on the painkillers to care too much about her appearance or any drool.

"No. Sorry for waking you," Giles said.

"I wasn't really sleeping," Buffy replied.

"Come on, you were sure looking like you were, and sounding like," Faith said with a teasing smile on her lips.

"Faith, she was looking like a little angel," Willow said. She then realized what she had said and blushed.

Buffy shook her head. "Again with the size thing. One would think you had a bit more care for your old friend," she said.

"More like young," Xander replied.

"So is this gig over. Can we go home soon?" Faith asked, addressing both her and Giles.

"The Replicators are dust at my feet. My friends are home and well... no there is still some stuff," Buffy said trying to stall for time. She hadn't expected a large group to confront her all together. She almost wished Teal'c would stop talking to Daniel and come by, just to frown at her friends.

"We can't keep waiting. Those dark forces you mentioned gotta be here soon," Xander said looking at Giles.

Giles looked away for a moment, then took out a handkerchief and started to polish his glasses. Buffy could recognize that look any day. Giles was hiding something or just not saying it. "Giles? Dark forces?" Buffy asked.

Giles sighed. "What I am about to tell you is not something I am proud off. I never gave up on finding out what exactly happened to Buffy. Without a body, I just couldn't be sure she was dead, so I had certain people in my employ continue to look for her, using increasingly esoteric means. Finally, a month ago, I discovered the truth when an intermediary got word from the hell gods. They knew that Buffy had survived her trip to another universe, but was beyond our battles. I had an independent check on her, and found that she was alive and emotionally happy. I knew from your last experience with pulling Buffy back, you all would be more cautious, so I had Angel arrange for some demons to try and reach this universe. I made sure that they were sure to fail, but it would convince Willow and the Council seers that evil was reaching for Buffy, and that we had to hurry."

"But why?" Willow asked.

"At first, I just wanted to know what happened – that's why I kept searching. However, when I figured it out – that they had taken Buffy, and put her somewhere away from us – that she was emotionally happy, but possibly being manipulated, I debated with myself whether to intervene. Eventually, I decided I had to find out myself: I had to go and see if Buffy really was safe, and whether I needed to bring her home. I manipulated the rest of you into coming along because, if I was right, and, Buffy, you were fine, then I felt they needed to see you at least one more time; if on the other hand I was wrong, they would be needed to bring you home."

Everyone sat there for a long time and thought about Giles' admission, but no one said anything.

"I am glad you came, no matter what the reasons were." Buffy finally broke the silence. "I have wanted to see you all for so long."

--

Dawn sat in the darkened conference room overlooking the gate and waited. It wasn't in use at the moment, and Dawn liked the quiet, compared to rest of the constantly busy base. Buffy had been allowed to walk around a little today, and had immediately headed for her dying Grandfather, something Dawn understood. The man was dying a slow, but natural, death and none of them could really do anything about it. Xander, Willow and Giles had all agreed they wouldn't mention going home to Buffy until that situation was resolved. To do so would be too disrespectful. Faith and Satsu were off combat training somewhere in the complex with the SG soldiers, who were apparently trying to determine whether Buffy was unique in her skills.

Dawn heard steps on the metal stairs, and her sister emerged into the room.

"This is a bit of a gloomy place to find you," Buffy said, without any tone of teasing in her voice.

"How's Jacob?" Dawn asked.

"Selmak is in a coma, and almost dead. Jacob isn't going to wake up again. We said goodbye earlier. Mom is sleeping in her office, but I couldn't sleep."

Dawn nodded. "You loved him a lot, so it must be hard for you," she said.

Buffy nodded, then she walked over and stood in front of the window to the gate room. Dawn could only see her silhouette. "I loved him a lot. I never had a Grandfather like him before. He was always there for me, and he wasn't afraid to tell me the truth or teach me new things, and he did it without being condescending. Selmak was a great friend too. You know, it preferred to be female for most of its life, so in a way, he had a big old Betty in his head these last few years."

Dawn chuckled. They both kept silent for a while. Dawn was remembering her mom and figured Buffy was thinking about her dying Grandfather.

"Dawn, about going with you guys," Buffy said.

"Buffy, stop. Don't say anything. Please let me tell you something first."

Buffy turned and looked at Dawn.

"You should stay here," Dawn managed to say, before she felt the tears welling into her eyes.

"What? Dawn I..." Buffy stammered, her expression faintly visible in the reflected light of the room below, looking bewildered, and, for a moment, slightly hurt.

"No, please listen. I love you. We all do – even Faith, though she'd rather have her fingers torn off than admit it – but really, you're not needed back home. Xander, Willow and Giles have kicked ass. Angel and Spike too. There are still hundreds of slayers, all of them looking up to your memory and all of them fighting hard every day, and we're winning. But it's still ugly, and sometimes the badness gets too much. Faith isn't working as a slayer. She almost went insane for a while after she had a bad encounter with a demon and I'm completely out of it too. When we heard you were here, all we could think about was to go and get you home, but we didn't think that you could have made yourself a home here. You have, and... and it's better... I mean it's better for you. They nurture you here Buffy. They try and look out for you. We never did that. You were either our leader or our soldier. But honestly we all made mistakes with each other too often. Here you can have a second chance at a full life. If you return home, you'll fight and be the Slayer, the General, the Hero, but here you get to be Buffy. I want that for you. You've made so many sacrifices for us – for me. I think its time we did the same. I am just sorry it has to mean that I won't be able to see you," Dawn said.

Buffy took her much taller sister into a hug and for once Dawn didn't feel like the older girl. For a moment they were just sisters – not Slayer and Key, not big sister and little sister, but family for real.

"You could stay," Buffy whispered.

"I can't. Don't think I'm not tempted – I am. I could throw away my old life – I'm not needed to fight the demons any more – but I have a boyfriend, and a life at College. I want to marry him one day, and live a life with him. His name is Evan and he is probably going out of his mind by now. I think he's the one," Dawn admitted.

Buffy started crying too. "Oh god, I won't get to see your wedding." Buffy wiped away a few tears.

"A life is a bit bigger than the happiest day of my life. I won't get to see your day either. Listen Buffy: you need this place, even once your done growing up. They're good for you, and disciplined on top of it. Besides, I think you'd be bored back home. There are no space ships for you to fly, no fancy wormholes or any little little alien buggers for you to beat up on."

Buffy nodded.

"So what were you going to tell me," Dawn said.

"That I wanted to stay here," Buffy admitted. They gave each other tired smiles. "So what happens now?" Buffy asked and sat next to her.

"We tell the others," Dawn said.

"Oh," Buffy said, "couldn't we write them a note, or something?" Then they both chuckled.

Epilogue:

Buffy felt relieved as she headed towards the training area. Her bandaged arms and chest were itching like mad, but she knew not to scratch them. She wanted to go back – back to the conference room where the tension had disappeared. Where her sister had absolved her of her sin of wanting to stay, and allowed her to take the next step. She entered the training hall where Teal'c was instructing Faith and Satsu in Mastaba. Even though he didn't know them beyond what Buffy had told him, he had taken to the slayers naturally. It seemed years of dealing with her had given him some understanding of them.

Giles and Willow were sitting at the far end of the room talking about something. Xander was watching intently. For a moment, he reminded her of a cross between one of the SG team leaders and Giles watching his protégés fighting. Buffy wandered over and sat down next to him, wincing slightly as the new skin she was growing under her bandages complained. She knew she would be scarred, she just hoped it wouldn't be too bad, but secretly Buffy feared the worst. However, she pushed away her vanity for just a moment. She had a difficult thing to do.

"Hi, Xander," she said, and sat down keeping her focus on the fight. Faith was a little out of shape Buffy realized. The younger Satsu was getting in a few hits that her old friend and rival should have caught. For a while, Buffy felt like going out there and fighting wounds be damned, but she couldn't. She hated losing her fighting form, even just a little.

"Hi, Buffy," Xander said after a while. "You want to say something?"

"How do you know these things," Buffy asked.

"I am me. Besides, I know you my Buffster. Are you okay? You look like you just had a deep conversation of some sort... " Xander sat in silence for a moment, then a realization changed his expression. He turned to face her. "You've decided?"

"Yeah," Buffy admitted. She struggled for a moment trying to decide yet again what to say.

"You're staying," Xander stated, and looked back out at the fight.

Buffy felt like the air went out of her. "Wait... how?" Buffy asked.

"Listen, why do you think I've been so angry ever since I saw you here? I knew. I knew the moment I saw you standing there talking to your new mom in the infirmary. Your face is like an open book to me. I don't want to say this, but Buffy when you're happy, it practically radiates off of you. I knew you were happy here. Then I turned into an asshole and tried to have you back, even though I had already figured out that you were happier here than you had been for a long long time back in Sunnydale. I'm sorry. I was being egotistical. Call it momentary insanity."

"Jeez, you lot are all 'deep with the wisdom' these days. Dawn practically ordered me to stay and you had figured it out all by yourself. Am I going to go back there and hear the same from Willow and Giles?" Buffy looked towards the pair, still deep in their discussion. Giles had been deeply apologetic ever since he had admitted to manipulating the Scoobies to bring them here.

"I don't know. I think they have thought about it, but I guess you shouldn't be surprised if they're gonna be all kinds of understanding," Xander explained.

"I need to go talk to them now," Buffy continued.

"Yeah, I can't help you there. You should schedule in some time to talk to Faith as well," Xander said.

"Sorry to dump and run, but I need to do this before I get to weepy."

"I m ok here for now," Xander said, continuing to watch the slayers fight.

Buffy smirked and got up. She walked along the training area as Teal'c barked instructions to the girls. She walked up to Willow and Giles, overhearing their conversation.

"So you understand why I have done it, why I've recreated someone to watch the Watchers, just like they did in the past?" Willow said.

"Of course I do. I've always approved – I just couldn't tell you. The Watchers – especially the older faction that is still holding the purse strings – are dead set against it, but I felt that by acting as their champion and leader I could control what measures they would take against you. They started out wanting to assassinate you, but I managed to keep it to exile. And I will continue to do so until the old guard has finally passed, and make sure they don't recreate themselves in the younger generation... Ah Buffy," Giles turned and looked at her.

"You should have stayed with my original financing plan: outright theft from those who could afford it," Buffy suggested, not really meaning it.

"Of course, and give something for both our enemies to focus on. The way we changed to was much more efficient in the end even if it has allowed the old Watcher faction a measure of power. This system has served us well for several years, but I guess when you get back, we'll have to evaluate our suggestions again. Your old position as Head Slayer is available if you want it," Giles said.

Buffy frowned. She hoped he wasn't serious. The slayers had to have some sort of leader. "Really?" she asked.

"Of course not. Actually we tried having Faith fill in, but it really didn't work for her. She is a lot of things that we all love her for, but not really a leader. And since then, no one has really been able or willing to fill that place, so almost everyone listens to the leading council," Willow explained.

"I thought you said the slayers would need a figurehead - a single person to rally around?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, and these days it's mostly Xander, Giles or me, depending on who you ask," Willow continued.

"What about Kennedy?" Buffy felt she needed to ask.

"Kennedy isn't really leadership material. Honestly, she pisses off a lot of people," Willow said.

"She's an arrogant bitch, and she's actually worse whenever you two decide not to date for a while," Giles interjected.

Buffy knew she could have said something, but decided to do better than in her past, and kept her opinion of Kennedy to herself. Ken was a good slayer, but her personality set Buffy's teeth on edge. She had always been afraid that Kennedy would go off on a killing spree – Faith style – only, aimed at other slayers, just to prove she was the best, as if something like that would help anything. It was probably just an irrational dislike, coming from her knowledge that Kennedy actively disliked Buffy as well.

"Hah, figures," Willow said. "So what gives? You just making the rounds?" Willow asked with a look on her smiling face that reminded Buffy, for a moment, that Willow was her best friend, or had been for a long time. It was almost strange to see her all grown up. Buffy wondered if Willow ever thought about settling down and putting together another family outside of the Scoobies.

"I wanted to talk to you. About me going or staying," Buffy said. Both looked at each other and then at her. Buffy could see they were prepared for both things, but had formed no judgment ahead of time. "I am staying here. Please let me explain before you ask, say anything or argue.

"My Grandfather said something before I went to rescue Bra'tac and you." She looked at Willow. "He told me that I needed to make this decision for myself. I love it here. I really deeply love it. I love you guys, but the life on your side – it wouldn't fit me any more. I may have been taken here against my will, but I've made it my home and staying here has changed me. I feel like I am meant to be here. For the longest time, I was afraid I was abandoning my duties to everyone on your Earth, but I don't think I am. I have met the embodiment of this universe, and she told me that I was brought here for a purpose, but I was also told to take care of myself. I know it's a little selfish, but I think I want to live in a universe where that is something I'm supposed to do. One where I wasn't just chosen to fight and die... or lead from the front all alone. The people on either side weigh equally for me: mother, sister, friends old and new – all equal, so I have to go with everything else. And that is why I've decided to stay." Buffy breathed out and smiled. "Sorry for the long speech, but I had to explain it to someone at least once."

Giles looked sad, but somehow not that surprised. Then he did something he hadn't really done to her for a long long time. He grabbed her and took her into a gentle, but tight, hug that just managed not to press too hard against her damaged skin. Buffy felt surrounded by the bigger older man, and remembered all the good times, all the trust and confidence they had shared. They had hurt each other, but in the end this moment was better. "Buffy, I am proud of you. I am so glad you were in my life," Giles whispered, only for her ears.

"Do I get a hug as well?" Willow asked, just as Giles leaned back. Willow and Buffy hugged too, then Buffy sat back in between the pair.

"You know it's weird that you're a kid again," Willow said.

"Hey, how do you think I felt when I got my memories back? Okay, given I was in the middle of a Goa'uld base, having just been tortured, and was fighting my way up to the leader to explain my feelings to him, I may have had other things to worry about at the time, but I can tell you I wasn't too pleased. One good thing though: the better diet and, I think, some of Carter genes have improved my bust line, and made me several inches taller," Buffy boasted.

Willow drew back and studied Buffy for a moment, "It's not that noticeable, but I'm sure you're right," she said with a smile.

"Funny! Be glad you're a civilian, and I am not in top form, or you'd be out on that mat getting sparred around this room," Buffy said. Willow grinned.

"I always thought that was the reason Buffy was so successful as a slayer. Smaller target and all that power focused into smaller areas," Giles said, but his eyes revealed he was just teasing her.

"Okay, okay, I can take the digs," Buffy said. She watched as Faith finally put Satsu on the mat.

"What happened to her to make her quit?" Buffy asked.

"Faith never really quit," Giles explained. "She got retired more-or-less for mental health reasons. She took a couple of hard missions that drained her emotionally, and experienced some trauma, but she was doing good until one of her strike teams ended up in a hell dimension. For us she was gone for a only an hour, but Faith spent nearly a year fighting, getting tortured, humiliated, and I think she gave in a one point. One day, she had enough strength to make her way back home, but she wasn't really sane for a while. We managed, with Angel and Spike's help, to contain her and get her the help she needed. Angel told me that Faith revealed in her therapy that you were somehow a legend in that dimension, and that while your memory helped sustain her, it didn't help her with her feelings towards you."

"You know," said Buffy, "somehow, at one point in time, it ended up being about who was the better person between me and her. I was as guilty as Faith of screwing up great parts of my relationship with her, but I was a kid with my own problems when I met her and I just wasn't strong enough to prop her up. It's one of the biggest regrets I have, because I just can't help thinking how great Faith would have been without me. She hasn't died three times, slept with two vampires, or decided to kill someone, just to give their blood to their vampire boyfriend. Sure, she hurt me right back and she turned to the dark out of sheer fear and egotism. We have a long list of issues between us, I just don't think I have the time to repair all that, if our history is still the problem."

"I doubt that is still the main problem. However, you should talk to her before we leave," Giles suggested.

"I'll try," Buffy said.

"So what will you do now?" Willow asked.

"Right now, I'll see if I can get to talk to Faith, but otherwise, I guess I'll go see my mom in her lab. She is sure to be working on something interesting," Buffy commented.

"It's so neat, you're a brain now," Willow said.

"Hey, I was never stupid," Buffy argued.

"No, you were a natural leader, fighter and planner, but never really research gal or anything like that. I mean, you seem like you would know how to put together a circuit board or something now," Willow said.

"Oh, I do. I helped my mom built the prototypes of the space superiority fighter of earth – the F-305. Of course, it's already outdated, and we're looking at making a single seater and our own cargo ships too. You know, maybe I should study that. I guess I'd love to build space ships – I certainly love flying them. But you know what's funny: I am studying different branches of science at college, but I haven't really picked a major. I want to do so much, I find it hard to decide."

Out on the mat Satsu, who was being held in a choke hold by Faith, slapped the floor to signal her surrender.

Buffy called out to Faith. "Faith, could we talk?" She grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the floor near Giles and Willow, and brought it along as a first peace offering.

Faith studied her. "So am I the last on your list for today?" she asked.

"You could hear us right?" Buffy asked rhetorically.

"Yup," Faith agreed.

"And the kidnapping part?" Buffy asked. She guided them over to other corner of the room. Teal'c, who was standing nearby, moved away to give them privacy. Buffy reminded herself to talk to her friend about the state of things in the galaxy, but knew it had to wait.

"Especially that part," Faith said, and stood there looking a bit defensive.

"Sit please," Buffy said.

Faith sat almost reluctantly.

"Giles told me you were retired, so why did you want to come for me?" Buffy asked.

"Honestly I wasn't sure when I first heard from Angel that you were still alive. I had mourned you for a long time, and I was a little angry with you," Faith explained.

"I heard something about issues," Buffy replied, trying to sound as neutral as possible and really listen to her sister slayer.

"Yeah, it's really not your fault. I just feel--" Faith shook her head and sighed. "It's so fucked up, B. Our business was done – I thought it was done – but then you became the big leader in the sky of the slayers and I was back amongst the masses. I tried to tell myself it was okay, but stupid little cunt that I can be, I started pulling a Kennedy on myself – telling myself that I was the active slayer, that the line followed me, and that meant I should be in charge. I never really believed that shit for real. Really, I expected you to fuck up, or step down to finally get that life no one seemed to want to let you have – not even yourself – but you went and died. You became this fucking big martyr and I had to step into your spot, and live up to your legend. That nearly killed me, because I tried to do what you did, but I couldn't. We think and fight completely differently. Xander and Angel managed to convince me to stop, and I took that hit, but I kind of stayed a symbol just like you did.

"Then I ended up in some sort of prison hell, where you had been too. You had gotten away, but they had wised-up, and kept overwhelming me. Whenever I got away, there was no way home, so they kept catching me. I don't know for sure why they didn't just kill me. Finally, I managed to slip away one morning, just as they went out for more slaves, and made it through a portal. I was totally fucked up, but throughout the entire time I was there, all I heard about was you. From the other slaves, and from the other slayers that were trapped with me, until they died. And I hated you, because you were always there overshadowing me. I guess I just wanted to be big sister for once."

"Oh, god, Faith. I got out of there by luck and endurance. I even had some help. I can't even say I'm sorry can I?" Buffy said.

"Nah, it's my problem I just can't seem to tell anyone... except you. Why can I tell you?" Faith asked.

"Come on, you know why," Buffy said.

They looked at each other and nodded. Buffy was more conscious of it than Faith probably was, but even she knew it at that moment: Buffy and Faith were more than the others. They were The Slayers – not made by Willow's magic, but by The Powers. It didn't make them physically stronger, but there was something deeper and darker in them than in all the others. Maybe it was a flaw in Willow's spell – a tiny glitch – but it was there. It was a connection between them, and it was a connection that they, due to their history, had never explored or been able to truly embrace.

"Yeah, I know why. So you're not coming home. Angel is going to be sad about that," Faith said.

"I know. Oh, I know. You know how I feel about him. There will probably never be another that has the same place in my heart. There will be other loves, deep and intense, but I doubt there will be another Angel for me. Faith, would you tell him and Spike something for me?" Buffy looked at her black haired friend.

"Any day B," Faith said.

"Thanks. Tell them... Tell them that I love them both of them. Differently, but the both of them. I love Angel. I love Spike. But not romantically – not anymore. I'm not that person any more. That dark romantic world doesn't still attract me. I will be a grown up soon – again – and I have love like one as well. I can never thank them enough: they were both a major reason I became who I was. Many of the good and the painful things came from them, but in hindsight, I would not have missed even a single thing... except maybe one or two things I did with Spike," Buffy admitted.

"Yeah, I got all the nasty play-by-play one dark night. You got mad skills, B. I thought I was all that in the weird hotness, but damn," Faith chuckled. "No really I will tell them – I promise," she said.

"Thanks. I guess there isn't that much more I can tell you, huh? I ain't got that many nuggets of wisdom yet. I am, amazingly, still a growing girl here," Buffy commented.

"Just sit here with me for a while," Faith said.

Buffy gave Faith a confused look.

"I want to remember how you feel to me," Faith explained.

"How very predatory-cat like, F," Buffy commented.

"Shh," Faith said. Buffy didn't say anything after that, but just sat in silence and watched everyone around them go about their life in the busy training hall, while Faith sat with closed eyes next to her. After five minutes Faith got up, and offered Buffy her hand. Buffy grabbed it, and let Faith lift her until she stood.

"Take care B," Faith said.

Buffy took a step then turned and looked at Faith. "Faith, I don't think I've ever got a serious answer? Why won't you use my name?" she asked. "You use everyone else's – at least occasionally!"

Faith blinked then smiled, "Honestly, like you should be named Buffy. It's not a good enough name for that which you are. So I settled on 'B'."

"Faith, sometimes you're a mystery to me," Buffy said, but smiled, believing Faith had just given her a compliment in disguise.

"Right back at ya, B," Faith said. Buffy walked, away giving everyone a small wave.

--

Buffy walked into her mom's gloomy lab. The short haired blond woman was seated over a piece of alien technology trying to place some sort of probe into its innards. Buffy tried to determine the machine's origin, but couldn't place it as something she had seen before.

"Hi," she said. Her mom looked up and immediately smiled, but Buffy could see the guarded fear in her mom's eyes that had been ever present since the Scoobies had arrived. Buffy knew her mom wanted to be down in the medical observation room like Buffy, but Janet had forced them both to leave, promising to call them when Jacob's final time came.

"Hi, honey," her mom replied.

"I've told them. Now it's your turn," Buffy said, then realized too late that she had forgotten to tell her mom what she was talking about.

"You've made your decision?" her mom said. For a moment Buffy sensed the flicker of uncertainty in the blue eyes staring back at her.

"I'm staying. I want to stay here. With you – with everyone. My life is here now."

Her mom rushed over, and then stopped, remembering her skin problem, and gently hugged her a lot like Giles had done earlier. "Oh, god? Are you sure, honey?" her mom asked into her hair.

"Yeah, I am staying here for ever and ever," Buffy said.

"Thank god," her mom said. Buffy felt a little awkward for a moment as she realized her always strong, always dutiful, mom was crying. Then she just closed her eyes and let her mom hold her, sharing their precious good moment and hoping it would keep them strong in the dark days of the coming weeks.

--

Buffy walked away from the Arlington graveyard along with the rest of SG-1 and her friends, who had decided to stay and support her while she and her mom dealt with her Grandfather's funeral. It was a gray cloudy day, but it hadn't rained. There had been hundreds and hundreds of people at the funeral. Generals, the Chiefs of Staff, Jaffa leaders, Tok'ra and enough security to make it look like a state funeral. Buffy somehow felt that the attention vindicated her Grandfather's life. F-305s had flown by as the coffin was lowered into the ground.

--

Sam held her sobbing daughter as the last glimpse of the magical portal that had taken away her friends faded, and then completely disappeared. They had stayed as long as they could, but it had been time to return. The goodbyes had been long and tearful for all involved.

Jack put a warm hand on her shoulder. "You know what. I think I liked them after all," he admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Sam said. Buffy seemed not to hear them at all.

Buffy righted herself and stepped forward to look around the room, wiping her face slowly. "I'll miss them, but I know this is how it should be. Now, you said you have a theory about that ship orbiting the moon?" Buffy asked.

"Nah, business tomorrow. We're going out to dinner. I've taken the liberty to book us a couple of tables at a Steakhouse," Jack said and looked at his watch. "Besides, I happen to know that a certain Teal'c has arrived through the gate while we were seeing your friends off. He, Daniel and Jonas are waiting for us. So, no moping, squirt."

Buffy sniffed again wiped the last wetness of her face. "I can't promise that, but I can try," she replied.

"That's all I want," Sam said. "Let's go."

--

Dawn stood next to Angel and Spike on the moonlit battlements of the Scottish headquarters of the Watchers' Council. "Why didn't you stay?" Angel asked. Dawn knew from his tone that he would have been as tempted as she had been.

"I have a life here. Her life was there now," she answered.

"I hope it's a good one – better than me and Liam here could give her," Spike said.

Dawn expected a prickly reply from Angel, but all the dark haired vampire said was, "Me too."

Willow walked out, followed by Xander, Giles and Faith. They were carrying extra mugs of hot chocolate for the trio already outside.

"Seriously, you guys are such boy scouts," Spike grumbled.

"So are we remembering B again. Man, this is too much like a wake for me," Faith said.

"No, this is not a wake. Let's raise up and drink to a good future for us and for Buffy," Giles said.

"Hear, hear," Angel said and took a sip. They all followed suit. Dawn turned and looked out over the castle. She hoped Buffy was alright. At least she would always have that hope, and anyway wasn't hope better than the knowledge of a certain death? She smiled at the moon.

_**THE END.**_

**Author's notes:**

Amazing what a little spare time can do. I wrote the raw copy for this entire thing in a day and beat my own records doing so. Anyway I hope this little episode in the life of Buffy after "Going Home Through a Starry Mirror" was alright. It turned out as long and as fulfilling to write as I hoped. The entire conflict between the new life and the old was interesting to write and I used the Replicator thing as a backdrop to create the tension of drama on top of the more familial issues. I know some people might feel I skimmed rather lightly over things like Jacob's death, but honestly I wanted to keep focus where it should be, and while Buffy and Sam mourned deeply, it just didn't need to be part of the story – the same with the ending portal. I had originally planned several thousand words extra on both things, but they turned out to be mostly useless and repetitive of what Buffy talked over with the Scoobies earlier. This was, and remained, a more personal story about Buffy, Sam and the Scoobies which is why I wrote it like I did.

As for the Replicator made space ship and the nanites in Buffy's blood I am leaving them as open options for the next story: "Bring on the Fire." That one was supposed to be the big confrontation that Buffy was originally summoned for (yes Anubis was just foreplay), and what Buffy has been groomed for by the universe. However, there is one major problem right now (early May 2008): that is I don't really feel like I have a good plot for Buffy and SG-1 aside from the Ori plot line, and I don't think that is enough to only have the action, but not the emotional connection like Sam and Buffy's familial bond forming in Going Home or Buffy dealing with her past in this story. So until I figure out an emotional hook, I have to leave this series with this entry until then. I'd rather not put out half a story and then have to drop it because my muse won't play along. For one year and five months the Buffy Carter series has been my primary fanfiction project and also I think I want turn to something else for a while. This is not goodbye, this is wait and see, it is a maybe, a hope ;) And as story telling is in me I am sure to have more of something for you my readers one day soon.


End file.
